SSC CHSL Tier 1 2022 English Comprehension Questions with Solutions

Explanation

When converting direct speech to indirect speech with a reporting verb in the past tense ("said"), certain rules of transformation must be applied. The pronoun "I" (first person) changes to "he" (third person) to match the subject of the reporting verb, Ravi. The modal verb "may" changes to its past tense equivalent "might". Additionally, the demonstrative adjective "this" changes to "that" to reflect the shift in perspective from direct to indirect reporting. Combining these changes with the conjunction "that" yields the grammatically correct indirect statement: "Ravi said that he might sell that tie."

Explanation

The verb brainstorm means to gather in a group to generate creative ideas, discuss possibilities, and solve problems. In this context, Google employees (Googlers) meet regularly to share ideas, collaborate, and collectively decide which historical figures, events, or anniversaries will be featured as a Google Doodle. The infinitive to brainstorm perfectly fits both the grammatical structure of the sentence and the collaborative process of creative decision-making.

Explanation

The word lair refers to a wild animal's den or resting place, and by extension, a secret place where a person seeks hiding, security, or refuge. Thus, it is synonymous with a place of concealment.

Explanation

The idiom "to the manner born" means to do something with natural ease, grace, or familiarity, as if one has been accustomed to it from birth or is naturally suited to a particular way of life. It originates from William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, where the prince uses the phrase to explain that he is native to the local customs and practices. Over time, the expression has evolved to describe anyone who performs a specific role, task, or behavior so effortlessly and naturally that it appears entirely innate to them.

Explanation

The passage narrates events in the past, established by verbs like helped, had, gave, made, and went. To maintain tense consistency, the blank requires a verb in the simple past tense. The word began is the past tense form of begin and grammatically fits the subject they to describe the starting action of the strategy.

Explanation

The blank requires a noun that refers to Jarasandha, who was a king or monarch of Magadha. The noun used to describe a person who governs a country or state is ruler. Therefore, ruler is the grammatically and contextually correct word to describe Jarasandha as the most feared leader of his time.

Explanation

The pronoun "They" refers back to the subject (Krishna and the husbands) who performed the action of killing Jarasandha in the previous sentence. The adverb "then" is used to establish chronological sequence, indicating that releasing the imprisoned kings was the next logical action in their strategy immediately following Jarasandha's death. Together, "They then" successfully connects the sentences while maintaining grammatical correctness and narrative flow.

Explanation

The sentence refers to the many kings who were released from Jarasandha's prisons. The blank requires a possessive determiner that corresponds to the plural antecedent kings to show ownership of the kingdoms. The possessive determiner there is their, which correctly indicates that the kingdoms belonged to those released kings.

Explanation

The context of the sentence refers to the various locations or places the speaker's husbands visited. The adverb of place "wherever" means "in, at, or to whatever place" and is used to indicate that regardless of the destination they went to, they were welcomed with friendship. This fits the grammatical structure and maintains the logical flow of the passage concerning physical travel and geographical movement.

Explanation

The idiom "Be my guest" is a polite expression used to grant someone permission to do something, equivalent in meaning to "please do it" or "go ahead". It is typically employed when someone asks for permission to use an object, take a seat, or perform an action, and the speaker wishes to warmly invite them to proceed.

Explanation

The segment "hardly picture in Rome I was unable" contains a grammatical error because "picture" is a singular countable noun. Singular countable nouns must be accompanied by an article or determiner. In this context, the adverb "hardly" requires the indefinite article "a" before the noun to make the phrase grammatically correct as "hardly a picture", which means almost no picture.

Explanation

When converting direct speech into indirect speech, several grammatical changes are required because the reporting verb "said" is in the past tense. First, the first-person pronoun "I" shifts to the third-person pronoun "she" to align with the speaker. Second, the modal verb "will" backshifts to its past form "would" to maintain tense consistency. Finally, the adverb of time "tomorrow" is updated to "the next day" to reflect the shift in the frame of reference. Combining these adjustments results in the grammatically correct indirect assertion.

Explanation

The word homogeneous is derived from the Greek roots homos meaning same and genos meaning kind. It is used to describe things that are of the same kind, nature, or character, or that possess a uniform structure or composition throughout. This makes it the precise term to denote belonging to the same kind.

Explanation

The word bogus is used to describe something that is not genuine, counterfeit, or fake. Therefore, false is its direct synonym, as both words denote something that is untrue, invalid, or artificially fabricated to deceive.

Explanation

The word malodorous is correctly spelt. Derived from the prefix mal- meaning bad or unpleasant, and odor meaning smell, it is an adjective used to describe something that has an extremely unpleasant or foul smell.

Explanation

The word senile describes a person who is experiencing a decline in mental or physical faculties, particularly dementia and memory loss, as a result of old age. It is derived from the Latin word senex, meaning old, and directly refers to the cognitive deterioration associated with advanced age.

Explanation

The word polarize means to divide or cause division into two sharply contrasting groups, sets of opinions, or beliefs. The direct opposite of this action is to bring different parts together into a single, unified whole. Combine means to join or merge two or more substances, entities, or groups together, making it the correct antonym.

Explanation

The correct spelling of the word is TREBLE, which means threefold, triple, or relating to the highest range of musical notes or voices. The spelling TREBBLE with a double b is incorrect in standard English.

Explanation

The word precarious describes a state, situation, or position that is not securely held and is dangerously likely to fall, collapse, or fail. It is derived from the Latin word precarius, which means obtained by entreaty or depending on the play of chance and the will of another. In contemporary usage, it directly refers to something that is characterized by a lack of security or stability, making it entirely dependent on chance, unknown conditions, or uncertainty.

Explanation

The sentence begins with the main clause "Our study goes", which naturally connects with part P ("beyond LDL cholesterol levels to get") to complete the prepositional phrase "goes beyond". The transitive verb phrase "to get" in part P requires a direct object, which is provided by part R ("a complete picture of all of the lipoproteins"). This is followed by part Q ("and the impact of eating walnuts daily"), which uses the coordinating conjunction "and" to link a second object of interest. Finally, part S ("on their potential to improve cardiovascular risk") serves as the prepositional phrase that modifies "the impact", completing the logical and grammatical flow of the sentence.

Explanation

The idiom buy a lemon means to purchase something, especially a vehicle or an electronic item, that is defective, unreliable, or of much less value than expected. It is commonly used when a buyer makes an unfortunate purchase of a product that constantly breaks down or fails to work properly.

Explanation

The idiomatic construction many a or many an is always followed by a singular countable noun, even though it conveys a plural meaning. Therefore, the plural noun hours must be replaced with the singular noun hour, making many an hour the grammatically correct form.

Explanation

The word desiccate means to dry out thoroughly or remove all moisture from something. Its direct antonym is hydrate, which means to restore or add moisture by causing to absorb water.

Explanation

The grammatical error lies in the use of the adverb "there" instead of the possessive pronoun "their" in the phrase "one of the greatest of there kings". Since the sentence refers to the kings belonging to the Spartans, the possessive pronoun "their" must be used to modify the noun "kings".

Explanation

The word sane is defined as having a sound mind, showing good judgment, and being rational or mentally healthy. Paranoid refers to a state of suffering from paranoia, which is characterized by irrational suspicion, delusions of persecution, and mental unsoundness. Therefore, paranoid acts as the opposite in meaning to sane by representing a state of mental imbalance and irrationality.

Explanation

The preposition from must be followed by a noun, pronoun, or gerund to function as its object. In this context, the gerund walking is required to represent the continuous action of moving through the dew that caused the wetness. Additionally, the past participle soaked is correct as it functions as an adjective describing the state of the shoes.

Explanation

The active sentence is in the past perfect tense, which follows the structure: Subject + had + past participle of the verb + Object.

To convert a past perfect active sentence into the passive voice, the structure used is: Object + had been + past participle of the verb + by + Subject.

Applying this rule to the sentence, the subject "We" becomes the object "us", the object "the cake" becomes the subject, and "had eaten" changes to "had been eaten". This structure is correctly represented in the statement: The cake had been eaten by us.

Explanation

The sequence CDBA forms a grammatically correct and coherent passage.

The introductory clause, I didn't speak to the sage again for many years, is logically followed by part C, though I heard of him from time to time. I learned, which introduces a concession and a new action.

The transitive verb learned at the end of part C requires an object, which is provided in part D, his name: Vyasa the Compendious,.

Part B, because of the many hefty books, he'd written. Vyasa the, explains why he was called the Compendious and introduces his other title.

Finally, part A, see, born on a dark island of a union between an ascetic and a fisher princess, completes the sentence by describing his birth and origin.

Explanation

A demagogue is a political leader who gains popularity and sways followers by exploiting emotions, prejudices, and ignorance rather than by using rational argument, typically employing powerful and impassioned public speaking oratory.

Explanation

The word invisible is the most appropriate fit for blank (1) because the context of the sentence revolves around uncovering a story that is not immediately apparent. To uncover something, it must initially be hidden, unseen, or concealed. The idiom reading between the lines refers to finding a meaning that is not explicitly stated or visible on the surface. Therefore, the story lying hidden or invisible between the lines of the men's exploits is what the author intends to reveal.

Explanation

The sentence requires a causative construction to show the author's intention of making a character narrate the story. The structure "have + object + bare infinitive" is used here, where "one of them" is the object and "tell" is the bare infinitive. The modal verb "would" is used alongside "have" to maintain narrative consistency in the conditional or hypothetical past-perspective established by "would uncover" in the previous sentence. This makes "would have" the grammatically correct and stylistically appropriate fit for the blank.

Explanation

Correct Answer: D

The phrase "the way in which" is a standard idiomatic construction in English used to describe the manner or perspective in which something is done, experienced, or perceived. In this context, it correctly denotes the unique female perspective and manner through which the character views her world and her place within it.

Explanation

The phrase "better suited" is the most appropriate fit for the blank because it means having the right qualities, characteristics, or position for a particular role or task. In the context of the passage, Panchaali is the central female character of the epic, making her the most fitting and qualified person to narrate her own experiences, struggles, and perspective. The comparative form "better" also correctly pairs with the conjunction "than" that follows the blank in the sentence.

Explanation

The verb invite is followed by the preposition into when welcoming someone to enter a physical space, a state of being, or a metaphorical world such as a book, novel, or story. In this context, the narrator invites the reader into the narrative world of the book titled 'The Palace of Illusions' to experience Panchaali's life and perspective.

Explanation

The word amiss refers to something that is inappropriate, faulty, imperfect, or not quite right. Its opposite must denote something that is flawless, perfect, or without any faults. The word impeccable means in accordance with the highest standards of propriety, behavior, or appearance, carrying the meaning of being faultless, flawless, and exemplary, which makes it the direct antonym of amiss.

Explanation

The word soar means to fly or rise high in the air, or to glide along at a high altitude. Therefore, fly is the correct synonym as it shares the same primary meaning of moving through the air.

Explanation

The idiom "to miss the bus" is used to describe a situation where someone fails to take advantage of a favorable opportunity because they acted too slowly or arrived too late. Just as missing a physical bus means being left behind and unable to travel, missing the metaphorical bus means losing a valuable chance or opportunity that was available.

Explanation

The phrase to meet society new needs contains a grammatical error. The noun society must be in the possessive form society's or replaced with the adjective societal to correctly modify the noun phrase new needs. Using society as a noun adjunct here is incorrect; it should properly read to meet society's new needs to show possession.

Explanation

The pronoun "We" is first-person plural and requires a plural verb in the simple present tense. The plural form of the verb is "keep", as singular verbs ending in "-s" are only used with third-person singular subjects. Therefore, the plural verb "keep" correctly agrees with the subject "We".

Explanation

When changing a sentence from direct to indirect speech, the reporting verb "said to" changes to "told" followed by the object "her teacher". The conjunction "that" is used to connect the reporting clause with the reported clause. The first-person pronoun "I" changes to the third-person pronoun "she" to match the subject "Miranda". Furthermore, when the reporting verb is in the past tense, the simple past tense in the reported speech ("was") changes to the past perfect tense ("had been"). Therefore, the direct speech converts to "Miranda told her teacher that she had been sick for a day".

Explanation

The segment contains a grammatical error in the use of the adjective degree. When making a comparison between two entities, the comparative degree of the adjective must be used. In this sentence, the average staff cost at a public sector bank is being compared to that of its private sector counterpart using the conjunction than. Therefore, the positive adjective high must be replaced with its comparative form higher to make the sentence grammatically correct.

Explanation

The word fanatic describes a person who is marked by extreme, uncompromising, and intense enthusiasm or devotion to a particular cause, belief, or group. In contrast, a moderate is someone who avoids extremes, advocating for temperate, balanced, and reasonable views or actions, making it the direct antonym.

Explanation

The sentence contains no spelling errors. The word seemed is the correct spelling of the past tense of seem, meaning to give the impression of being. The word taller is the correct comparative form of the adjective tall, spelled with a double l. The conjunction than is correctly spelled and used to introduce the comparison, and the verb be is also spelled correctly.

Explanation

A cascade is defined as a waterfall or a series of small waterfalls that flow down a steep, rocky slope from a great height, representing a rapid and steep descent of water.

Explanation

The correct sequence is QRSP, which forms a grammatically coherent and logically structured sentence.

Part Q introduces the main clause, setting the timeframe and the subject-verb structure with "in the early 20th century it was almost universally assumed".

Part R follows naturally by introducing the noun clause starting with "that", which explains the substance of the assumption: "that traditional cultures would be completely assimilated".

Part S provides the prepositional phrase "into colonial cultures within a few decades", which completes the passive verb "assimilated", and concludes with the adverb "thus" to indicate a consequence.

Part P completes the sentence with the participle clause "undermining the strict application of comparative anthropology", which describes the direct result of the assimilation mentioned in the preceding parts.

Explanation

The given active sentence is in the simple present tense, indicated by the verb writes. To convert a simple present tense sentence into the passive voice, the structure used is: Subject + is/are/am + past participle (V3) of the main verb + by + Agent.

In this sentence, the plural object recipes becomes the new subject, which requires the plural auxiliary verb are. The past participle of the verb write is written, and the original subject Susan becomes the agent introduced by by. Therefore, the correct passive voice construction is Recipes are written by Susan for the cookbook.

Explanation

The sentence starts with the plural subject Some algal blooms, which requires a plural verb. Part R begins with the verb occur, making it the immediate follow-up to the subject.

Part R ends with the conjunction and, which connects to the noun phrase nutrient conditions in part Q.

Part Q ends with the auxiliary verb phrase and they can be, which requires an adjective or predicate to complete its meaning. Part P provides this with beneficial to aquatic life, since these tiny.

Finally, the adjective tiny at the end of part P modifies the noun organisms at the start of part S, completing the sentence logically with organisms form the base of the food chain. This establishes the coherent sequence as RQPS.

Explanation

The sentence uses the word "then" instead of "than" for making a comparison. The conjunction "than" is used in comparative expressions such as "more than" to introduce the second element in a comparison of quantity or amount. In contrast, "then" is an adverb used to indicate time, sequence, or consequence. Therefore, "then" must be replaced with "than" to make the sentence grammatically correct.

Explanation

The word algid, misspelled as aligid in the question, is an adjective that means extremely cold or chilly. The word igneous relates to fire, great heat, or volcanic activity, representing a hot or fiery state. Therefore, igneous serves as the opposite in meaning to algid.

Explanation

The relative pronoun in the first part of the clause functions as the subject of the verb "are", requiring the subjective case pronoun "who". In the second part of the clause, the pronoun functions as the object of the preposition "of" in the phrase "some of...", which requires the objective case pronoun "whom".