Q1. Choose the antonym of 'OBSTREPEROUS'.
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Answer: D. Docile
'Obstreperous' means noisy and difficult to control. 'Docile' (quiet and easily managed) is its opposite; 'unruly', 'boisterous' and 'clamorous' are similar in meaning.
SSC CGL English Comprehension Advanced Practice Set 7
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 the idiom 'to cut one's coat according to one's cloth' mean?
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Answer: B. To live within one's means
'To cut one's coat according to one's cloth' means to adjust one's spending or plans to the resources available, i.e. to live within one's means.
Q3. Rearrange the sentences P, Q, R and S to form a coherent paragraph. P: More significant still, the routes carried ideas, religions and technologies across continents. Q: Spices, glassware, paper and precious metals also changed hands along the way. R: Although it is known as the Silk Road, silk was only one of the many goods it carried. S: For centuries, a network of caravan routes linked China with the Mediterranean world.
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Answer: B. SRQP
S introduces the routes; R names them and notes silk was only one good; Q lists other goods ('also'); P, 'More significant still', ends with the most important cargo: ideas.
Q4. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'This edition of the novel / is superior than / the earlier one, / critics agree.'
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Answer: B. is superior than
Latin comparatives such as superior, inferior, senior, junior, prior and preferable take 'to', not 'than'. It should be 'is superior to'.
Q5. What does the idiom 'to be in the doldrums' mean?
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Answer: C. To be in low spirits or in a state of stagnation
'To be in the doldrums' means to be depressed, listless, or in a period of inactivity. The Doldrums are equatorial waters where ships were often becalmed.
Q6. Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word: The witness's testimony was ________ by CCTV footage, which showed exactly the sequence of events he had described.
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Answer: A. corroborated
'Corroborated' means confirmed or supported by further evidence. Since the footage showed exactly what he described, it supported his testimony; 'refuted' and 'contradicted' mean the opposite, and 'fabricated' means invented.
Q7. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'Between you and I, / the new manager / does not seem / very competent.'
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Answer: A. Between you and I,
A preposition takes the objective case of the pronoun. 'Between you and I' should be 'Between you and me'.
Q8. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'If he would have / listened to his parents, / he would not / have got into trouble.'
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Answer: A. If he would have
In a third conditional (past unreal condition), the 'if' clause takes the past perfect: 'If he had listened...'. 'Would have' belongs only in the main clause.
Q9. Choose the synonym of 'INTREPID'.
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Answer: C. Fearless
'Intrepid' means fearless and adventurous. 'Timorous' and 'craven' mean fearful or cowardly, and 'cautious' means careful, not fearless.
Q10. Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word: The auditor's report brought to light a series of financial ________ that the management had tried desperately to conceal.
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Answer: D. irregularities
'Irregularities' (improper or dishonest practices) fits the idea of something the management tried to conceal. Accolades, dividends and reforms would not be hidden.
Q11. Read the passage and answer the question. Passage: When antibiotics were introduced in the 1940s, they were hailed as miracle drugs, and diseases that had once been death sentences became easily curable. Yet even Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, warned that misuse would breed resistant microbes. His warning has proved prophetic. Every time an antibiotic is taken unnecessarily, or a course is abandoned halfway, the hardiest bacteria survive and multiply. The routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock to speed their growth has accelerated this process. Today some infections resist almost every available drug, and the pipeline of new antibiotics has slowed to a trickle because such drugs offer pharmaceutical companies meagre profits. Unless usage is curbed, medicine risks returning to a pre-antibiotic age. Question: According to the passage, why has the development of new antibiotics slowed down?
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Answer: D. Such drugs are not commercially rewarding for pharmaceutical companies.
The passage states that the pipeline has slowed 'because such drugs offer pharmaceutical companies meagre profits', i.e. they are not commercially rewarding.
Q12. Rearrange the sentences P, Q, R and S to form a coherent paragraph. P: A placebo is a substance with no therapeutic ingredient, such as a sugar pill. Q: This finding complicates clinical trials, since a new drug must outperform not nothing but a placebo. R: Researchers attribute this to expectation, which can trigger the brain's own pain-relieving chemicals. S: Remarkably, patients who receive one often report genuine relief from pain.
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Answer: C. PSRQ
P defines a placebo; S ('receive one') reports its surprising effect; R ('this') explains the cause; Q draws the implication for clinical trials.
Q13. A person who is new to a subject, skill or belief is called:
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Answer: C. Neophyte
A 'neophyte' is a beginner or novice. A 'veteran' is highly experienced, a 'virtuoso' is a master performer, and a 'maverick' is an independent-minded nonconformist.
Q14. Choose the antonym of 'DIFFIDENT'.
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Answer: C. Self-assured
'Diffident' means modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence. 'Self-assured' is its opposite; 'hesitant', 'bashful' and 'timorous' are near synonyms.
Q15. Rearrange the sentences P, Q, R and S to form a coherent paragraph. P: Forming vast swarms, they can then strip entire fields bare within hours. Q: Desert locusts are normally solitary insects that avoid one another. R: After heavy rains, however, abundant vegetation allows their numbers to multiply rapidly. S: Crowded together, they undergo a startling change in colour, behaviour and appetite.
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Answer: D. QRSP
Q describes locusts' normal solitary nature; R ('however') introduces the population boom; S describes the transformation caused by crowding; P ('then') gives the destructive result.
Q16. What does the idiom 'to fish in troubled waters' mean?
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Answer: B. To take advantage of a confused or disturbed situation for personal gain
'To fish in troubled waters' means to exploit a situation of disorder or trouble for one's own benefit.
Q17. Read the passage and answer the question. Passage: The fashion industry has discovered speed. Collections that once changed twice a year now arrive in stores every few weeks, and garments are priced so low that many are worn only a handful of times before being discarded. The hidden costs of this abundance are considerable. Textile dyeing pollutes rivers, synthetic fibres shed microplastics with every wash, and the workers who stitch these clothes often labour for paltry wages in unsafe conditions. Some consumers have begun to resist, buying fewer but more durable clothes, repairing rather than replacing, and seeking out traditional handloom weavers. Such choices will not transform the industry overnight, but they signal a welcome shift away from treating clothing as disposable. Question: What does the author mean by saying that 'the fashion industry has discovered speed'?
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Answer: D. Clothing is now designed, sold and discarded far more rapidly than before.
The next sentence explains that collections now change every few weeks instead of twice a year and clothes are quickly discarded, so 'speed' refers to the rapid cycle of producing, buying and discarding clothes.
Q18. Rearrange the sentences P, Q, R and S to form a coherent paragraph. P: He noticed that milkmaids who had caught cowpox seemed to be immune to smallpox. Q: In the late eighteenth century, smallpox killed hundreds of thousands of Europeans every year. R: To test his hunch, he infected a boy with cowpox and later exposed him to smallpox. S: Against this grim backdrop, a country doctor named Edward Jenner made a crucial observation.
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Answer: B. QSPR
Q sets the historical scene; S ('this grim backdrop') introduces Jenner; P states his observation; R describes how he tested that 'hunch'.
Q19. Choose the synonym of 'EFFRONTERY'.
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Answer: C. Impudence
'Effrontery' means insolent or shameless audacity, i.e. impudence. 'Diffidence', 'courtesy' and 'reverence' all suggest modesty or respect, the reverse of effrontery.
Q20. Choose the best replacement for the bracketed part of the sentence. Choose 'No improvement' if it is already correct. [The poor is] always exploited by the unscrupulous.
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Answer: A. The poor are
When 'the' is placed before an adjective to denote a class of people (the poor, the rich, the old), it takes a plural verb. Hence 'The poor are'.
Q21. Read the passage and answer the question. Passage: The fashion industry has discovered speed. Collections that once changed twice a year now arrive in stores every few weeks, and garments are priced so low that many are worn only a handful of times before being discarded. The hidden costs of this abundance are considerable. Textile dyeing pollutes rivers, synthetic fibres shed microplastics with every wash, and the workers who stitch these clothes often labour for paltry wages in unsafe conditions. Some consumers have begun to resist, buying fewer but more durable clothes, repairing rather than replacing, and seeking out traditional handloom weavers. Such choices will not transform the industry overnight, but they signal a welcome shift away from treating clothing as disposable. Question: Which of the following best captures the main idea of the passage?
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Answer: D. The cheapness of fast fashion conceals serious environmental and human costs, which some consumers are beginning to resist.
The passage describes the 'hidden costs' of fast fashion (pollution and poor labour conditions) and the emerging resistance of some consumers. It explicitly says the industry will not be transformed overnight.
Q22. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'Of the two proposals / submitted by the firms, / this one is / the best in every respect.'
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Answer: D. the best in every respect.
When only two things are compared, the comparative degree is used. 'The best' should be 'the better'.
Q23. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'You must walk carefully / on the wet floor / lest you will / slip and fall.'
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Answer: C. lest you will
'Lest' is followed by 'should' (or the base form of the verb), never 'will' or 'not'. It should be 'lest you should slip and fall'.
Q24. Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word: Though the evidence against him was overwhelming, the accused remained ________, refusing to show the slightest remorse.
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Answer: D. impenitent
'Impenitent' means not feeling shame or regret, which matches 'refusing to show remorse'. 'Contrite', 'penitent' and 'remorseful' all mean regretful, which contradicts the sentence.
Q25. What does the idiom 'to throw down the gauntlet' mean?
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Answer: B. To issue a challenge
'To throw down the gauntlet' means to issue a challenge. Knights threw down a glove as a challenge to combat; picking it up signified acceptance.