Q1. Choose the antonym of 'TACITURN'.
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Answer: A. Garrulous
'Taciturn' means habitually silent; 'garrulous' means excessively talkative. The other options are synonyms of 'taciturn'.
SSC CGL English Comprehension Advanced Practice Set 3
25 advanced questions, suggested time 30 minutes. Tap an option to check it, or open “Show answer” for the explanation.
Topics: Antonyms, Idioms and Phrases, Para Jumbles, Error Spotting, Cloze Test, Synonyms, Reading Comprehension, One-word Substitution, Sentence Improvement
Score: 0 / 0
Q2. What does 'to pour oil on troubled waters' mean?
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Answer: B. To calm a quarrel or tense situation
'To pour oil on troubled waters' means to try to soothe a dispute. Making a quarrel worse would be 'adding fuel to the fire'.
Q3. Rearrange the sentences P, Q, R and S to form a coherent paragraph. P: With mechanical printing, identical copies could be produced quickly and cheaply. Q: As a result, literacy spread and ideas travelled faster than ever before. R: The printing press, developed in fifteenth-century Europe, transformed the spread of knowledge. S: Before it, books were copied by hand, which made them rare and costly.
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Answer: B. RSPQ
R introduces the printing press; S ('Before it') describes the earlier situation; P describes the change; Q ('As a result') gives the outcome.
Q4. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'The committee comprised of / eminent jurists, economists / and retired bureaucrats / drawn from across the country.'
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Answer: A. The committee comprised of
'Comprise' means 'consist of', so it takes no 'of': 'The committee comprised eminent jurists...' (or 'consisted of' / 'was composed of').
Q5. What does the idiom 'to carry coals to Newcastle' mean?
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Answer: B. To take something to a place where it is already plentiful
'To carry coals to Newcastle' means to do something superfluous, such as supplying a thing to a place that already has plenty of it.
Q6. Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word: The villagers regarded the stranger with ________, having been cheated by outsiders many times before.
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Answer: C. mistrust
Having been cheated before, the villagers would view a stranger with 'mistrust'. 'Reverence' and 'adulation' are admiration, and 'nostalgia' is longing for the past.
Q7. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'He has been working / in this firm / since the last / ten years.'
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Answer: C. since the last
'Since' is used with a point of time; 'for' with a period of time. 'Ten years' is a period, so it should be 'for the last ten years'.
Q8. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'The manager, along with his assistants, / have been summoned / to explain / the discrepancies in the accounts.'
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Answer: B. have been summoned
When two nouns are joined by 'along with', 'as well as' or 'together with', the verb agrees with the first noun. 'The manager' is singular, so it should be 'has been summoned'.
Q9. Choose the synonym of 'SANGUINE'.
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Answer: D. Hopeful
'Sanguine' means cheerfully optimistic, i.e. 'hopeful'. 'Morose' is gloomy and 'irascible' is quick-tempered.
Q10. Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word: The negotiations had reached such an ________ that neither side was willing to make the first concession.
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Answer: D. impasse
An 'impasse' is a deadlock in which no progress is possible, which fits neither side conceding. An 'accord' would mean agreement, the opposite.
Q11. Read the passage and answer the question. Passage: Economists have long warned against the fallacy of composition: the assumption that what is true for a part must be true for the whole. A single household that cuts its spending during hard times acts sensibly, building a cushion against misfortune. But if every household does the same at once, shops sell less, factories cut production and workers lose their jobs. Incomes fall, and the very savings people hoped to accumulate shrink. Thus a virtue at the individual level can become a vice at the collective level. This paradox explains why governments often increase their own spending precisely when private citizens are tightening their belts. Question: As used in the passage, the word 'cushion' refers to:
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Answer: C. a reserve that softens the impact of hardship
Here 'cushion' is used figuratively for savings that protect a household from the full impact of hard times.
Q12. Rearrange the sentences P, Q, R and S to form a coherent paragraph. P: Faced with an unpleasant task, we put it off to escape the discomfort it causes. Q: Thus the habit feeds on itself, trading momentary ease for lasting stress. R: Procrastination is often mistaken for laziness, but psychologists see it as a problem of managing emotions. S: The relief is short-lived, however, as the deadline draws closer and anxiety returns with greater force.
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Answer: A. RPSQ
R introduces the topic; P explains the emotional escape; S ('The relief') refers to the escape in P; Q ('Thus') concludes the cycle.
Q13. A person who hates mankind is called:
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Answer: D. Misanthrope
A 'misanthrope' dislikes humankind in general. A 'misogynist' hates women, a 'misogamist' hates marriage, and a 'philanthropist' loves and helps mankind.
Q14. Choose the antonym of 'ACRIMONIOUS'.
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Answer: D. Amicable
'Acrimonious' means angry and bitter; 'amicable' means friendly and without discord. The rest are synonyms of 'acrimonious'.
Q15. Rearrange the sentences P, Q, R and S to form a coherent paragraph. P: Coral reefs are built by colonies of minute animals called polyps. Q: This phenomenon, known as bleaching, can kill entire reefs if it persists. R: These tiny organisms depend on algae living within their tissues for food. S: When sea temperatures rise, the algae are expelled, and the coral turns white.
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Answer: D. PRSQ
P introduces polyps; R ('These tiny organisms') describes their dependence on algae; S explains what happens when the algae are expelled; Q names this phenomenon.
Q16. What does the idiom 'to show the white feather' mean?
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Answer: C. To display cowardice
'To show the white feather' means to behave in a cowardly manner.
Q17. Read the passage and answer the question. Passage: When a species is declared endangered, the first instinct is to fence off its habitat and keep people out. This fortress model of conservation has saved some animals, but often at a heavy human cost. Communities that had lived alongside forests for generations found themselves evicted, branded as trespassers on land their ancestors had tended. Resentful and impoverished, some turned to the very poachers the fences were meant to exclude. Increasingly, conservationists acknowledge that protection works best when local people are partners rather than obstacles, when they share in the benefits of tourism, help monitor wildlife and have a stake in the forest's survival. Question: The author's attitude towards the 'fortress model' of conservation is:
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Answer: C. critical, while acknowledging that it has had some success
The author admits it 'has saved some animals' but criticises its heavy human cost, so the attitude is critical yet not wholly dismissive.
Q18. Rearrange the sentences P, Q, R and S to form a coherent paragraph. P: However, a theory that survives repeated attempts at refutation earns our provisional trust. Q: Science does not prove its theories in the way mathematics proves theorems. R: Instead, it subjects them to tests that could, in principle, show them to be false. S: Even such a theory, though, remains open to revision should new evidence emerge.
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Answer: A. QRPS
Q introduces the idea; R ('Instead') contrasts with it; P ('However') qualifies the testing process; S ('Even such a theory') refers back to the theory described in P.
Q19. Choose the synonym of 'PERFUNCTORY'.
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Answer: A. Cursory
'Perfunctory' means carried out with little care or interest, i.e. 'cursory' (hasty and superficial).
Q20. Choose the best replacement for the bracketed part of the sentence. Choose 'No improvement' if it is already correct. The sub-committee [consisted from] five experts.
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Answer: B. consisted of
'Consist of' means 'to be made up of'. 'Consist in' means 'to have as its essence', and 'comprise' takes no 'of'.
Q21. Read the passage and answer the question. Passage: When a species is declared endangered, the first instinct is to fence off its habitat and keep people out. This fortress model of conservation has saved some animals, but often at a heavy human cost. Communities that had lived alongside forests for generations found themselves evicted, branded as trespassers on land their ancestors had tended. Resentful and impoverished, some turned to the very poachers the fences were meant to exclude. Increasingly, conservationists acknowledge that protection works best when local people are partners rather than obstacles, when they share in the benefits of tourism, help monitor wildlife and have a stake in the forest's survival. Question: Why, according to the passage, did some evicted villagers turn to poachers?
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Answer: A. Eviction had left them resentful and poor, with no stake in protecting wildlife
The passage links their turn to poachers to being 'resentful and impoverished' after eviction; nothing in it supports the other options.
Q22. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'Being a rainy day, / we decided / to stay indoors / and play chess.'
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Answer: A. Being a rainy day,
This is a dangling participle: as written, 'we' were a rainy day. Use an absolute construction: 'It being a rainy day, we decided...'.
Q23. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'If he had worked harder, / he would have passed / the examination / without no difficulty.'
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Answer: D. without no difficulty.
'Without' is already negative, so 'without no' is a double negative. Correct: 'without any difficulty'.
Q24. Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word: Far from being chastened by the defeat, the party leader remained ________, insisting that victory was only a matter of time.
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Answer: C. undaunted
'Undaunted' means not discouraged by difficulty, matching his insistence on eventual victory. The other options all suggest regret or loss of hope.
Q25. What does the idiom 'to cut the Gordian knot' mean?
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Answer: A. To solve a complicated problem by a bold, direct action
'To cut the Gordian knot' means to resolve a complex problem decisively instead of dealing with its intricacies.