SSC CHSL Tier 1 2024 English Comprehension Questions with Solutions

Explanation

In the context of behavior, the word blunt describes someone who is uncompromisingly forthright, direct, and often tactless or abrupt. The opposite of this manner of behaving is being polite, which means showing good manners, respect, and consideration for others. Therefore, polite is the most appropriate antonym for blunt.

Explanation

The infinitive form of a verb, constructed using the preposition to followed by the base form of the verb, is used to express purpose, intention, or a goal. In this sentence, the purpose of UNICEF building partnerships across the global community is to advance or speed up gender equality, making the infinitive to accelerate the grammatically correct choice to express this objective.

Explanation

The original sentence contains a grammatical error in the phrase "most intelligent student". A superlative adjective like "most intelligent" modifying a singular countable noun ("student") requires the definite article "the" before it. Since "the" is absent, replacing "most intelligent" with "an intelligent" rectifies the grammatical error. The indefinite article "an" is correctly used before the vowel-sounded adjective "intelligent" to modify the singular countable noun "student", resulting in the grammatically correct clause "Kavya is an intelligent student".

Explanation

Correct Answer: B

The segment containing the phrasal verb "gave on to" is grammatically incorrect. The phrasal verb "give on to" means to overlook or open directly into a place, which does not fit the context of distributing items. The correct phrasal verb for distributing or handing out food packets is "give out". Replacing "gave on to" with "gave out" makes the sentence grammatically correct and coherent.

Explanation

The segment "who was leaving college" contains a grammatical error because the past continuous tense "was leaving" is used incorrectly here. The time marker "last year" denotes a specific completed event in the past, which requires the simple past tense "left" instead of the continuous aspect. Therefore, the phrase should be "who left college" to maintain grammatical accuracy.

Explanation

The passage begins with the narrator stating that they were reading a book titled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In the sentence containing blank 1, the pronoun "It" refers back to this specific publication, making "book" the most contextually appropriate and natural noun to complete the statement about it becoming their favourite.

Explanation

The adverb "very" is used as an intensifier to modify the adjective "poor", indicating a high degree of poverty. In the context of the story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie Bucket and his family live in extreme poverty, making "very" the grammatically and contextually appropriate choice to describe his financial status.

Explanation

The verb allows means to give someone permission to do something or to make it possible for them to do it. In the context of the sentence, winning the golden ticket grants Charlie the permission and opportunity to enter the famous chocolate factory, which fits the grammatical structure where allows is followed by an object (him) and a to-infinitive (to enter).

Explanation

The verb visits is the most appropriate fit for the blank because it means to go to see and spend time at a place. In the context of the passage, Charlie wins a ticket to enter the famous chocolate factory, meaning he and his grandfather go there as guests to see the facility, which is precisely defined as making a visit.

Explanation

The phrasal verb "find out" means to discover or obtain information about something. In the context of the sentence, the reader is encouraged to read the book to discover more information about the other spoilt children, making "find" the grammatically and contextually correct word to combine with "out".

Explanation

The sentence requires a verb that denotes the physical action of producing text on paper using a pen or pencil, which is the definition of "writing". The gerund "writing" correctly follows the preposition "in" to complete the phrase "interested in writing letters by hand".

Explanation

The idiom dog in the manger refers to a person who prevents others from using or enjoying something that they themselves cannot use or do not need. This expression originates from an old fable about a dog that lies in a manger full of hay; although the dog cannot eat the hay itself, it refuses to let the cattle eat it.

Rachit has important work and cannot attend the show himself. Instead of letting others enjoy the event, he cancels the tickets for everyone, preventing them from going. This action directly reflects the selfish behavior described by the idiom.

Explanation

The word alert refers to being fully aware, attentive, and prepared to respond to any danger or emergency. Similarly, vigilant means keeping a careful watch for possible difficulties or danger. Both words describe a state of high awareness and watchfulness, making them synonyms.

Explanation

The word retract means to formally withdraw, recall, or take back a statement, promise, offer, or agreement. Similarly, the word revoke means to officially cancel, annul, or withdraw a decision, decree, or promise. Both terms share the core meaning of pulling back or nullifying a previous action or declaration.

Explanation

The word enormous refers to something that is extremely large, vast, or immense in size, scale, or quantity. The word minute describes something that is exceptionally small, tiny, or microscopic in size. Because these two words represent opposite extremes of scale, minute is the correct antonym of enormous.

Explanation

The idiom "call it a day" means to decide or agree to stop doing a particular activity, especially working, for the rest of the day. It is commonly used when people have completed enough work for one session and decide to finish up. In this context, it indicates that the technicians decided to end their repair work on the elevator for that day.

Explanation

The word illegible describes handwriting that is messy, untidy, or impossible to read. Handwriting that cannot be deciphered naturally creates a bad or poor impression on the reader, making this the most appropriate and contextually correct term to replace the incorrect word allusive.

Explanation

The word parade refers to a public procession, typically one celebrating a special day or event, featuring marching bands, floats, and organized groups of people. A procession is defined as a body of people or vehicles moving forward in an orderly, formal, or ceremonial manner. In the context of the sentence, both terms represent an organized, moving public march, making procession the direct synonym.

Explanation

The word clever denotes the ability to learn, understand, and apply knowledge quickly and effectively. In the context of managing professional hazards, it refers to cognitive ability and mental sharpness. The word intelligent directly represents this denotation, as it means having a high level of mental capacity, reasoning, and understanding, which is essential for successfully navigating complex work-related challenges.

Explanation

The word civilisation is incorrectly spelt in standard global English contexts, where the preferred and most widely accepted spelling is civilization, written with a z instead of an s.

Explanation

The correct word to use in this context is affected, which is a verb meaning to influence or produce a change in something. Since the housing loan influenced Ramesh's daily expenses in an adverse way, the verb affected is required. Additionally, the preposition by correctly identifies Ramesh as the person who took the housing loan.

Explanation

The noun "pace" requires an adjective to modify it. Although "leisurely" ends in "-ly", it functions as an adjective meaning unhurried, relaxed, or slow. Using "leisurely" to modify "pace" is grammatically correct and forms the standard idiomatic expression "at a leisurely pace" to describe doing something without hurry.

Explanation

The correct spelling of the word is privilege, which refers to a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group. It is derived from the Latin word privilegium, which combines privus meaning private and lex meaning law. The correct spelling contains a single v and a single l.

Explanation

Correct Answer: B

The adverb "typically" is synonymous with "characteristically", as both words indicate a standard, representative, or common feature of a group. Replacing "characteristically built" with "typically built" perfectly preserves the original meaning and grammatical structure of the sentence, where an adverb modifies the past participle "built" to describe the standard construction practice of ancient Greek and Roman buildings.

Explanation

The word sluggish is defined as being slow-moving, inactive, or lacking in energy and speed. Its direct antonym is rapid, which means characterized by great speed, swiftness, or fast-paced movement and activity.

Explanation

The word timid is defined as showing a lack of courage or confidence, or being easily frightened. The word audacious represents the exact opposite characteristic, meaning extremely bold, daring, or showing a willingness to take surprisingly courageous risks.

Explanation

The sentence maintains a past tense narrative with the verb ate in the second segment. To maintain tense consistency throughout the sentence, the future modal auxiliary verb will must be replaced with its past equivalent would. Therefore, will not change should be corrected to would not change.

Explanation

The verb believe is a stative verb that represents a mental state or cognitive belief rather than a dynamic, physical action. In English grammar, stative verbs are generally not used in the continuous or progressive tenses. Therefore, the present continuous form "are believing" in part C is grammatically incorrect and must be replaced with the simple present tense "believe". This places the grammatical error in part C, which corresponds to option B.

Explanation

The error lies in the use of the indefinite article "a" in the segment "a mailbox again". In this context, the mailbox being referred to is a specific, mutually understood one (the speaker's or the sister's mailbox). Therefore, the definite article "the" must be used instead of "a" to make the sentence grammatically correct as "the mailbox again".

Explanation

The segment contains a grammatical error due to a subject-verb agreement mismatch. The subject Rahul is a singular third-person noun, which requires a singular verb form. Therefore, the verb go must be written in its singular form goes to maintain correct subject-verb agreement.

Explanation

The passage describes a scenario where an individual sits down with the sincere intention to study but is unable to complete the task because their thoughts begin to wander. A situation where one is prevented from achieving a desired outcome despite genuine effort naturally causes feelings of disappointment, annoyance, and discouragement. The word frustrating perfectly describes this disheartening and annoying experience of having one's efforts thwarted.

Explanation

The sentence describes a situation where a person sits down to study with sincere intentions but is unable to finish the task because their mind loses focus. The word wandering is the most appropriate fit here, as thoughts wandering is a standard English expression that means one's mind is drifting, distracted, or unfocused, moving away from the subject of study.

Explanation

The verb enhance means to improve, increase, or further improve the quality, value, or strength of something. In the context of the passage, which discusses overcoming distractions during study, the sentence refers to techniques that can be used to improve or increase one's focus. Therefore, enhance is the most semantically and grammatically appropriate word to fill the blank, as it directly collocates with concentration to mean improving one's ability to focus.

Explanation

The verb attempt is the most appropriate fit because it grammatically pairs with the infinitive to create to form the construction attempt to create, which means to make an effort to do something. Contextually, the passage suggests practical techniques to improve concentration, and the sentence advises that as a first step, one should make an effort or try to establish a physical environment that supports focused thinking.

Explanation

The passage describes techniques to improve concentration and create an environment suitable for effective studying. In this context, the environment should support deep mental attention and minimize distractions, making it conducive to focussed thought.

Explanation

The correct spelling of the word is "harassed", which is the past tense of the verb "harass". The word is spelled with a single r and a double s. This spelling is derived from the French word "harasser", maintaining the single r and double s structure in standard English orthography.

Explanation

The preposition "for" is used to indicate a specific duration or period of time. In this sentence, "three hours" represents the total length of time spent studying, making "for" the correct preposition to express this duration.

Explanation

The word estimate means to form an approximate judgment or opinion regarding the value, amount, size, or weight of something. Evaluate similarly means to determine the significance, worth, or condition of something, usually by careful appraisal or study. Both words share the core meaning of assessing or calculating the value of an object, concept, or situation, making them synonyms.

Explanation

The conjunction lest is used to express precaution or to prevent an undesirable outcome, translating to for fear that or in order to avoid. In the given sentence, the action of rehearsing thrice is done to prevent the possibility of making mistakes in the dialogues during the final performance. The use of lest followed by the bare infinitive or subjunctive verb make perfectly conveys this intended meaning of precaution.

Explanation

The idiom "pacing up and down" means to walk back and forth repeatedly in a confined area, which is a common physical reaction when a person is waiting anxiously, eagerly, or expectantly. In this scenario, the individuals are waiting on the railway platform for their family members to return from a pilgrimage, making this idiom the most appropriate fit to describe their state of anticipation and restless movement.

Explanation

The word "Definate" is spelt incorrectly. The correct spelling is "Definite", which contains an "i" in the final syllable rather than an "a". It is an adjective used to describe something that is clearly stated, certain, or having distinct limits.

Explanation

The word petty is used to describe something that is of little importance, minor, or trivial. In the context of restrictions, petty restrictions refer to minor or small rules that are insignificant but often troublesome. Thus, small is the most appropriate synonym as it directly aligns with the definition of being minor or of little consequence.

Explanation

The phrase is proof provides a grammatically correct and semantically clear structure to the sentence. In this context, the noun evidence is linked by the verb is to the complement proof, which is then naturally followed by the infinitive phrase to finally put the culprit behind bars, indicating that the evidence serves as the conclusive demonstration needed for conviction.

Explanation

The word candid is defined as being truthful, frank, straightforward, and honest in speech or expression. Its most appropriate antonym is deceitful, which describes someone or something that is dishonest, untruthful, insincere, or misleading.

Explanation

Correct Answer: D

The word abolish means to formally put an end to a system, practice, or institution. The antonym of abolish is establish, which means to set up, initiate, or bring into existence a system, practice, or institution on a firm or permanent basis.

Explanation

The idiom "time and again" means on many occasions or repeatedly. In the context of the sentence, it indicates that Manish warned Rounak multiple times about the negative consequences of his habit of arriving late.

Explanation

The conjunction "though" is used to show contrast between two clauses. In the first clause, the speaker is "doubtful" about the story. To create a logical contrast, the second clause must express the opposite state of mind, which is belief or certainty. The word "convinced" means completely certain or assured that something is true, providing the exact contrast required by the sentence structure.

Explanation

The phrasal verb give up means to stop doing or using something, especially a habit like smoking. In this sentence, it correctly conveys the meaning of quitting smoking to improve health.

Explanation

A dominating nature is characterized by a desire to exercise power, authority, and influence over one's surroundings and other people. The phrase keep control means to maintain authority or power over a situation, which directly aligns with the behavior and desires of someone who has a dominating personality.

Explanation

The word powerful means having great power, strength, or influence. The word impotent means lacking power, strength, or the ability to take effective action. Therefore, impotent is the direct antonym of powerful.