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SSC GD Constable 11 February 2025 · Shift 2 · English — questions with answers · ShikshaSphere

Chapter 84 of 210

11 February 2025 · Shift 2

English

20 questions ~20 min readFree

20 questions

Select the most appropriate meaning of the underlined word. The explorer encountered an ancient artifact in the cave.

A.A form of currency
B.A type of insect
C.An object made by humans, usually of historical or cultural significance
D.A sudden burst of energy

Solution

Word meaning: artifact The word to be defined is 'artifact', from the Latin arte factum, 'made by skill'. An artifact is therefore an object shaped by human hands, valued because it survives from an earlier culture or period - pottery, tools or coins dug out of a site. That is exactly option (c): an object made by humans, usually of historical or cultural significance. An explorer finding something in a cave points to such a man-made relic; currency, an insect and a burst of energy have no connection with the word.

Select the most appropriate ANTONYM of the given word. Daring

A.Cheerful
B.Cautious
C.Clean
D.Confident

Solution

Antonym: daring 'Daring' means bold and adventurous - ready to take a risk. Its opposite must describe someone who avoids risk, and that is 'cautious': careful, watchful of danger. 'Confident' is close in tone to daring rather than opposite to it, and 'cheerful' and 'clean' belong to entirely different fields of meaning. Hence the correct option is (b).

Which of the following collocations given in the option is correct ? The report highlights the

____

significance of education in society.

A.vastly
B.major
C.critical
D.serious

Solution

Collocation with 'significance' A collocation is the word-partner that English habitually uses; the noun 'significance' takes adjectives of degree such as great, major, special and particular. 'Major significance' is the natural pairing and means 'great importance or influence', which is what a report on education would highlight. 'Vastly' is an adverb, and an adverb cannot qualify the noun 'significance' - the blank sits directly before it. 'Critical' and 'serious' normally attach to nouns such as importance, concern or problem, not to 'significance' in this neutral sense. Hence the correct option is (b).

Identify the sentence with the INCORRECT usage of an adverb.

A.We visit often our grandparents on weekends.
B.Sita often visits her grandparents on weekends.
C.She hardly ever visits her grandparents on weekends.
D.Mihir sometimes visits his grandparents on weekends.

Solution

Adverb of frequency placement An adverb of frequency - often, sometimes, always, hardly ever - stands immediately before the main verb (and after the verb 'be'). Option (a) puts 'often' between the verb and its object: 'We visit often our grandparents'. An adverb may never separate a verb from the object it takes. The correct form is 'We often visit our grandparents on weekends.' In (b), (c) and (d) the frequency adverb already stands before the main verb, so those three sentences are faultless. Hence the sentence with the incorrect adverb usage is (a).

Select the INCORRECTLY spelt word.

A.Company
B.Brellient
C.Institute
D.Request

Solution

Spelling 'Brellient' is the misspelt word; the correct spelling is 'brilliant'. Remember it as b-r-i-l-l-i-a-n-t: an i in the first syllable, a double l in the middle, and the ending -iant (as in radiant, defiant). 'Company', 'institute' and 'request' are all spelt correctly. Hence the correct option is (b).

Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank and complete the given idiom. The disputed land is the

____

of discord between two families.

A.mango
B.orange
C.apple
D.grapes

Solution

Idiom: apple of discord The complete idiom is 'apple of discord' - the thing or issue that is the cause of a quarrel between two parties. It comes from the Greek myth of the golden apple inscribed 'to the fairest', which set the goddesses fighting and led to the Trojan War. A disputed piece of land is exactly such a cause of quarrel between two families, so 'apple' fills the blank. Hence the correct option is (c).

Select the most appropriate meaning of the given word. Reluctant

A.Confused and unsure
B.Carefree and indifferent
C.Unwilling or hesitant
D.Eager and enthusiastic

Solution

Word meaning: reluctant 'Reluctant' describes a person who holds back from doing something - unwilling, hesitant. Its root is the Latin reluctari, 'to struggle against', which is exactly the feeling of resisting an action one is asked to take. Option (d), 'eager and enthusiastic', is its precise opposite; 'confused and unsure' and 'carefree and indifferent' name other states of mind. Hence the correct option is (c).

Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. She has been working here

____

5 years.

A.by
B.for
C.in
D.since

Solution

Preposition: for / since With the present perfect continuous, 'for' is used before a length of time and 'since' before a point of time. '5 years' is a measured length, not a starting point, so the sentence reads 'She has been working here for 5 years.' 'Since 5 years' is the standard trap - 'since' would need something like 'since 2019' or 'since Monday'. 'By' fixes a deadline and 'in' names a period within which something is completed; neither suits a stretch of time still continuing. Hence the correct option is (b).

Select the most appropriate synonym of the underlined word. The scientist's research was perplexing to many people.

A.Helpful
B.Exciting
C.Confusing
D.Clear

Solution

Synonym: perplexing 'Perplexing' means puzzling - it leaves people unable to make sense of what they see. The word that carries the same sense is 'confusing', difficult to understand. 'Clear' is its antonym, while 'helpful' and 'exciting' say nothing about how hard something is to understand. Hence the correct option is (c).

Fill in the blank with the suitable option.

____

men and women are paid equally in the labour force and there is no division of labour based on gender, women's work in the home will have no value.

A.Unless
B.Up till
C.Yet
D.Although

Solution

Conjunction: unless The sentence has two halves: a condition (equal pay and no gendered division of labour) and a consequence (women's home work will have no value). 'Unless' means 'if not' and introduces the single condition whose failure brings about the stated consequence. Read it out: if men and women are not paid equally, women's work in the home will have no value - which is the sense intended. 'Although' and 'Yet' mark contrast, not condition, and 'Up till' is a time expression that cannot open such a clause. Hence the correct option is (a).

Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. His

____

of the new policy was based on a careful analysis of its long-term implications.

A.courtesy
B.shyness
C.assessment
D.timidity

Solution

Vocabulary in context The blank names something that was 'based on a careful analysis' - that is, a judgement formed after weighing evidence. 'Assessment' is exactly that: a considered evaluation or estimate of something. 'Courtesy', 'shyness' and 'timidity' name qualities of manner or temperament, and a quality of temperament cannot rest on an analysis of a policy's implications. Hence the correct option is (c).

Select the INCORRECTLY spelt word.

A.Phillosophical
B.Demonstrated
C.Students
D.Profound

Solution

Spelling 'Phillosophical' is the misspelt word; the correct spelling is 'philosophical', with a single l. Build it from its parent word: philosophy (phi-lo-so-phy) plus -ical, so no letter is doubled anywhere. 'Demonstrated', 'students' and 'profound' are all spelt correctly. Hence the correct option is (a).

Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. My brother goes for swimming every day

____

summer.

A.thoroughly
B.during
C.for
D.at

Solution

Preposition: during 'During' is placed before a noun that names a period of time - during summer, during the meeting, during the holidays. 'Summer' is such a named period, so 'during summer' is the right phrase. 'For' would need a measured length (for two months), 'at' marks a point of time (at 5 o'clock), and 'thoroughly' is an adverb of manner that would leave the sentence without any preposition at all. Hence the correct option is (b).

Parts of the following sentence have been given as options. Select the option that contains an error. 'The team worked extremely efficient under pressure'.

A.efficient
B.extremely
C.under pressure.
D.The team worked

Solution

Adjective vs adverb A verb is modified by an adverb, never by an adjective. Here the verb is 'worked', so the manner of working must be shown by the adverb 'efficiently'; 'efficient' is an adjective and can only describe a noun. 'Extremely' is faultless - it is an adverb qualifying another adverb - and 'The team worked' and 'under pressure' contain no error. The corrected sentence reads: 'The team worked extremely efficiently under pressure.' Hence the part containing the error is (a).

Select the most appropriate synonym of the given word. Gigantic

A.Huge
B.Tiny
C.Fragile
D.Rough

Solution

Synonym: gigantic 'Gigantic' comes from 'giant' and means enormous, of immense size. 'Huge' carries the same sense of very great size, so it is the synonym. 'Tiny' is the antonym, 'fragile' means easily broken and 'rough' means uneven in texture - none of these speaks of size at all. Hence the correct option is (a).

Directions (Qs. 76-80): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. In 1981, the US Surgeon General issued a public health warning that alcohol use by women (76)

____

pregnancy was the cause of physical and mental birth (77)

____

in children. This warning came in (78)

____

to growing recognition that a group of (79)

____

physical and mental impairments in children, now commonly known as foetal alcohol syndrome, were correlated with maternal alcohol use during pregnancy. Today, doctors and scientists (80)

____

that as many as 1 in 20 US school children may exhibit some form of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders, many of which cause lifelong challenges for those affected.

Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number (76).

A.about
B.during
C.along
D.on

Solution

Cloze: preposition of time The blank stands between 'alcohol use by women' and 'pregnancy', so it must be a preposition tying the drinking to that stretch of time. 'During' means 'all through the period named', and pregnancy is precisely such a period. 'About' would mean 'concerning', 'along' needs a line or a path to run beside, and 'on' would need a date or a day. Hence the correct option is (b).

Directions (Qs. 76-80): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. In 1981, the US Surgeon General issued a public health warning that alcohol use by women (76)

____

pregnancy was the cause of physical and mental birth (77)

____

in children. This warning came in (78)

____

to growing recognition that a group of (79)

____

physical and mental impairments in children, now commonly known as foetal alcohol syndrome, were correlated with maternal alcohol use during pregnancy. Today, doctors and scientists (80)

____

that as many as 1 in 20 US school children may exhibit some form of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders, many of which cause lifelong challenges for those affected.

Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number (77).

A.affection
B.defects
C.process
D.collects

Solution

Cloze: noun choice The phrase 'physical and mental birth ____ in children' names the harm the warning was about, so a plural noun is needed. 'Birth defects' is the fixed medical term for abnormalities present in a child from birth, and it fits both adjectives before it. 'Affection' and 'process' are singular and mean something quite different, while 'collects' is a verb and cannot follow 'birth' here. Hence the correct option is (b).

Directions (Qs. 76-80): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. In 1981, the US Surgeon General issued a public health warning that alcohol use by women (76)

____

pregnancy was the cause of physical and mental birth (77)

____

in children. This warning came in (78)

____

to growing recognition that a group of (79)

____

physical and mental impairments in children, now commonly known as foetal alcohol syndrome, were correlated with maternal alcohol use during pregnancy. Today, doctors and scientists (80)

____

that as many as 1 in 20 US school children may exhibit some form of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders, many of which cause lifelong challenges for those affected.

Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number (78).

A.recuse
B.response
C.repose
D.repulse

Solution

Cloze: collocation 'in response to' The frame in the passage is 'came in ____ to', and the fixed collocation for that frame is 'in response to', meaning 'as a reaction to'. The warning was issued as a reaction to the growing recognition of the syndrome, so 'response' is what the sense demands. 'Recuse' (to withdraw oneself from a case), 'repose' (rest) and 'repulse' (to drive back) are look-alike words with unrelated meanings, and none of them takes 'in … to'. Hence the correct option is (b).

Directions (Qs. 76-80): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. In 1981, the US Surgeon General issued a public health warning that alcohol use by women (76)

____

pregnancy was the cause of physical and mental birth (77)

____

in children. This warning came in (78)

____

to growing recognition that a group of (79)

____

physical and mental impairments in children, now commonly known as foetal alcohol syndrome, were correlated with maternal alcohol use during pregnancy. Today, doctors and scientists (80)

____

that as many as 1 in 20 US school children may exhibit some form of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders, many of which cause lifelong challenges for those affected.

Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number (79).

A.pivotal
B.severe
C.social
D.limited

Solution

Cloze: adjective choice The blank qualifies 'physical and mental impairments' - the group of harms that together came to be called foetal alcohol syndrome. The passage ends by saying that many of these 'cause lifelong challenges', so the adjective must convey gravity: 'severe' means very serious in degree. 'Limited' would contradict that lifelong harm, 'social' names a different kind of impairment altogether, and 'pivotal' means crucially important - a word used of decisions and moments, not of injuries. Hence the correct option is (b).

Directions (Qs. 76-80): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. In 1981, the US Surgeon General issued a public health warning that alcohol use by women (76)

____

pregnancy was the cause of physical and mental birth (77)

____

in children. This warning came in (78)

____

to growing recognition that a group of (79)

____

physical and mental impairments in children, now commonly known as foetal alcohol syndrome, were correlated with maternal alcohol use during pregnancy. Today, doctors and scientists (80)

____

that as many as 1 in 20 US school children may exhibit some form of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders, many of which cause lifelong challenges for those affected.

Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number (80).

A.subsidise
B.normalise
C.vaporise
D.recognise

Solution

Cloze: verb choice The verb must say what doctors and scientists now accept about the number of affected school children - the blank is followed by a 'that'-clause of belief. 'Recognise' means to become aware of a fact and accept it, and it readily takes such a clause. 'Subsidise' (to fund), 'normalise' (to make normal) and 'vaporise' (to turn into vapour) all need an object, not a statement of fact. Hence the correct option is (d).

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