SSC GD Constable 19 February 2025 · Shift 1 · English — questions with answers

61

Identify the sentence with the INCORRECT usage of adverb.

A.The coffee tasted very bitter to him.
B.Thomas seldomly takes time off work, even when necessary.
C.They will soon finish the project, despite the delays.
D.Nancy had completely forgotten about the meeting.

Solution

Adverb form Check each option for an adverb that either has a wrong form or sits in a wrong place. 'Seldom' is itself an adverb of frequency; it takes no -ly, so 'seldomly' in option (b) is not a standard English form. The correct sentence is: Thomas seldom takes time off work, even when necessary. The other three are sound: 'very' modifies the adjective 'bitter', 'soon' modifies 'will finish', and 'completely' modifies 'had forgotten'.

62

Identify the INCORRECTLY spelt word in the given sentence. The new software update includes several enhancments to improve performance.

A.Performance
B.Enhancments
C.Update
D.Software

Solution

Spelling: -ment suffix The suffix -ment is added to the complete verb, and the verb 'enhance' keeps its final -e before it. So the correct spelling is 'enhancements', with an e between the c and the m; 'enhancments' drops that e. 'Performance', 'update' and 'software' are all spelt correctly, so option (b) is the incorrectly spelt word.

63

Fill in the blank with the most suitable collocation. She

____

asthma all her life.

A.has suffered
B.suffered to
C.is suffering in
D.has suffered from

Solution

Collocation: suffer from When the thing endured is an illness, the fixed collocation is 'suffer from' - suffer from asthma, from a cold, from diabetes. 'All her life' names a stretch of time reaching up to the present, so the present perfect 'has suffered' is the right tense. The two requirements together give 'has suffered from'. (a) drops the preposition, (b) uses 'to', which never follows 'suffer', and (c) uses 'in' with a wrong continuous tense.

64

Select the most appropriate ANTONYM of the bracketed word to fill in the blank. No child should be exposed to violence, abuse or

____

(neglect).

A.feel
B.attend
C.forgive
D.appear

Solution

Antonym in context The blank must be filled by a word opposite in meaning to the bracketed word 'neglect'. 'Neglect' means to fail to care for or pay attention to someone; 'attend' (to attend to a child) means to look after and give attention to, which is its exact opposite. 'Feel' is to experience a sensation, 'forgive' is to stop resenting, and 'appear' is to become visible - none of them reverses the sense of caring for someone.

65

Select the most appropriate synonym of the given word. Gorge

A.Canyon
B.Yacht
C.Aside
D.Storm

Solution

Synonym: landform As a noun, 'gorge' is a deep, narrow valley cut between steep rocky walls. 'Canyon' names exactly that landform, so it is the synonym. 'Yacht' is a boat, 'aside' means to one side, and 'storm' is violent weather - none of them is a landform.

66

Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blanks. The old library had (1)

____

shelves, (2)

____

books and (3)

____

corners, where students could study in peace, surrounded by historical knowledge.

A.(1) quiet; (2) dusty; (3) towering
B.(1) dusty; (2) quiet; (3) towering
C.(1) towering; (2) quiet; (3) dusty
D.(1) towering; (2) dusty; (3) quiet

Solution

Adjective-noun collocation Fit each adjective to the noun it can sensibly describe. Library shelves rise high, so they are 'towering'; books left standing for years gather dust, so they are 'dusty'; and corners where students 'could study in peace' must be 'quiet'.

Only option (d) gives this order, (1) towering, (2) dusty, (3) quiet; every other option puts 'quiet' or 'dusty' on the shelves, which the phrase 'study in peace' rules out.

67

Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the underlined segment in the given sentence. I thanked God for enabling me to save the child's life and feared about my school principal would accept my reason for coming late to school.

A.wondered whether my
B.disgusted as if
C.surprised though my
D.shocked if my

Solution

Substitute the segment The underlined part has to join 'I thanked God ... and' to the clause 'school principal would accept my reason'. 'Feared about' is wrong twice over: 'fear' is not followed by 'about', and a doubtful yes-or-no idea needs a linking word such as 'whether' before the clause. 'Wondered whether my' supplies both - a verb of doubt and the correct link word - and keeps the possessive 'my' before 'school principal', which the sense demands. (b) 'disgusted as if' has no verb form that fits and changes the emotion, (c) 'surprised though my' makes a contrast that the sentence does not have, and (d) 'shocked if my' turns doubt into a condition.

68

The given sentence is divided into four segments. Select the option that has the segment with an adverbial usage error. Teacher Sophia / told the class, / "Henry beautiful / finished his homework."

A.finished his homework."
B.Teacher Sophia
C."Henry beautiful
D.told the class,

Solution

Adjective used for adverb A word that tells how an action was done modifies the verb, so it must be an adverb, not an adjective. Here the word describes how Henry 'finished' his homework, and 'beautiful' is an adjective; the adverb form is 'beautifully'. So the faulty segment is '"Henry beautiful'; the corrected sentence reads, "Henry beautifully finished his homework." The other three segments contain no adverb at all, so no adverbial error can lie in them.

69

Select the most appropriate ANTONYM of the underlined word. It was extremely difficult for me to suppress my anger.

A.Release
B.Harass
C.Praise
D.Reward

Solution

Antonym of suppress 'Suppress' means to hold a feeling back and keep it from showing. Its opposite is to let the feeling out, which is exactly what 'release' means, so (a) is the antonym. 'Harass', 'praise' and 'reward' all describe how one treats another person; none of them is about letting one's own anger out.

70

Select the INCORRECTLY spelt word.

A.Nation
B.Almighty
C.Refer
D.Preffer

Solution

Spelling: consonant doubling The base word is spelt 'prefer', with a single f, so 'Preffer' in option (d) is wrong. The f doubles only when a suffix beginning with a vowel is added and the stress stays on the last syllable - preferred, preferring - but never in the base word itself. 'Nation', 'Almighty' and 'Refer' are all spelt correctly.

71

Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. In the present situation, teachers not only face criticism, but are also

____

for their innovative teaching methodologies.

A.commended
B.applauded
C.approved
D.derided

Solution

Vocabulary in context 'Not only ... but also' adds a second idea of the same kind as the first, so the blank must continue the negative idea begun by 'face criticism'. 'Derided' means mocked or ridiculed as unworthy of serious attention, which carries that criticism further. 'Commended', 'applauded' and 'approved' all mean praised; they reverse the direction of the sentence instead of continuing it, and three options of one meaning cannot each be the single answer.

72

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate ANTONYM of the word given in brackets. In this (endeavour)

____

he met with vigorous opponents.

A.design
B.force
C.inactivity
D.business

Solution

Antonym of endeavour The blank takes a word opposite in meaning to the bracketed word 'endeavour'. 'Endeavour' is a serious, sustained attempt to achieve something, so its opposite is the absence of any effort, that is, 'inactivity'. 'Design' is a plan, 'force' is physical strength and 'business' is an occupation; each of these goes along with effort rather than against it.

73

Select the most appropriate synonym of the given word. Enraged

A.Furious
B.Sharp
C.Jealous
D.Synthetic

Solution

Synonym of enraged 'Enraged' is built on 'rage', so it means filled with rage, that is, extremely angry. 'Furious' carries the same extreme degree of anger, so it is the synonym. 'Sharp' describes a keen edge or mind, 'jealous' is resentment at a rival, and 'synthetic' means artificially made - none of them names anger.

74

Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank.

____

advice you gave me was very useful for solving the issue.

A.The
B.A piece
C.An
D.A

Solution

Article with uncountable noun 'Advice' is an uncountable noun, so it never takes the indefinite article 'a' or 'an'. That removes (c) and (d) at once. The clause 'you gave me' points to one particular advice already known to both speakers, and a noun made specific in this way takes the definite article 'the'. (b) is incomplete: the countable expression is 'a piece of advice', and without 'of' it cannot stand before the noun.

75

Select the most appropriate idiom to fill in the blank. The hotel's spacious rooms and convenient location

____

for our family vacation perfectly.

A.fit of rage
B.fit to kill
C.fit to be tied
D.fit the bill

Solution

Idiom: fit the bill The blank needs an idiom meaning 'were exactly what was wanted', because the rooms and the location suited the holiday 'perfectly'. 'Fit the bill' means to be exactly suitable for a particular purpose, so it fits the sentence. 'Fit of rage' is a sudden burst of anger, 'fit to kill' describes dressing strikingly, and 'fit to be tied' means extremely angry - all three are about anger or appearance, not suitability.

76

Directions (Qs. 76-80): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Excessive gaming can negatively impact both (76)

____

and physical health, especially among young people. Social media frequently exposes users to (77)

____

content, which may influence their behaviour. However, the extent of this effect has not been widely studied. In this study, 25 young (78)

____

(average age 21.5) who played online games casually were examined. Participants reported their gaming desire after being exposed to gaming-related content on social media. An implicit association test (IAT) was also conducted to measure their implicit attitudes toward this content. Additionally, the relationship between these attitudes and psychological factors, such as personality traits and impulsiveness, was investigated. The results showed that participants had a stronger gaming desire when exposed to gaming cues as compared to (79)

____

content. They also had a positive implicit attitude towards gaming content. Moreover, higher levels of neuroticism were (80)

____

to correlate with greater explicit gaming desire.

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

A.emotions
B.society
C.cognition
D.mental

Solution

Cloze: word pair 'Both ... and' joins two items of the same kind, and the second item here is 'physical health'. So the blank needs an adjective naming the other side of health, and the established pair is 'mental and physical health'. 'Emotions', 'cognition' and 'society' are nouns; a noun cannot stand parallel to the adjective 'physical' in this pair.

77

Directions (Qs. 76-80): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Excessive gaming can negatively impact both (76)

____

and physical health, especially among young people. Social media frequently exposes users to (77)

____

content, which may influence their behaviour. However, the extent of this effect has not been widely studied. In this study, 25 young (78)

____

(average age 21.5) who played online games casually were examined. Participants reported their gaming desire after being exposed to gaming-related content on social media. An implicit association test (IAT) was also conducted to measure their implicit attitudes toward this content. Additionally, the relationship between these attitudes and psychological factors, such as personality traits and impulsiveness, was investigated. The results showed that participants had a stronger gaming desire when exposed to gaming cues as compared to (79)

____

content. They also had a positive implicit attitude towards gaming content. Moreover, higher levels of neuroticism were (80)

____

to correlate with greater explicit gaming desire.

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

A.news
B.advertising
C.gaming-related
D.educational

Solution

Cloze: contextual clue The blank describes the kind of 'content' that social media shows users in a passage about excessive gaming. The passage itself supplies the phrase two sentences later: participants were 'exposed to gaming-related content on social media'. So 'gaming-related' is the word the writer is using, and it alone explains the gaming desire the study goes on to measure. 'News', 'advertising' and 'educational' content would have nothing to do with the gaming cues the experiment tests.

78

Directions (Qs. 76-80): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Excessive gaming can negatively impact both (76)

____

and physical health, especially among young people. Social media frequently exposes users to (77)

____

content, which may influence their behaviour. However, the extent of this effect has not been widely studied. In this study, 25 young (78)

____

(average age 21.5) who played online games casually were examined. Participants reported their gaming desire after being exposed to gaming-related content on social media. An implicit association test (IAT) was also conducted to measure their implicit attitudes toward this content. Additionally, the relationship between these attitudes and psychological factors, such as personality traits and impulsiveness, was investigated. The results showed that participants had a stronger gaming desire when exposed to gaming cues as compared to (79)

____

content. They also had a positive implicit attitude towards gaming content. Moreover, higher levels of neuroticism were (80)

____

to correlate with greater explicit gaming desire.

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

A.minors
B.teenagers
C.children
D.adults

Solution

Cloze: precise noun The blank names the 25 young participants whose average age the passage gives as 21.5. People of about 21 are legally and ordinarily 'adults', and 'young adults' is the standard term for this age group. 'Minors', 'children' and 'teenagers' all describe people under 20 and are ruled out by the stated average age of 21.5.

79

Directions (Qs. 76-80): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Excessive gaming can negatively impact both (76)

____

and physical health, especially among young people. Social media frequently exposes users to (77)

____

content, which may influence their behaviour. However, the extent of this effect has not been widely studied. In this study, 25 young (78)

____

(average age 21.5) who played online games casually were examined. Participants reported their gaming desire after being exposed to gaming-related content on social media. An implicit association test (IAT) was also conducted to measure their implicit attitudes toward this content. Additionally, the relationship between these attitudes and psychological factors, such as personality traits and impulsiveness, was investigated. The results showed that participants had a stronger gaming desire when exposed to gaming cues as compared to (79)

____

content. They also had a positive implicit attitude towards gaming content. Moreover, higher levels of neuroticism were (80)

____

to correlate with greater explicit gaming desire.

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

A.negativity
B.neutral
C.gaming
D.positivity

Solution

Cloze: comparison word The sentence compares two conditions: desire was stronger 'when exposed to gaming cues as compared to ___ content'. A comparison is meaningful only against content that carries no gaming cue, and the word for content with no bias either way is 'neutral'. 'Gaming' would compare gaming cues with gaming cues, and 'negativity' and 'positivity' are nouns that cannot modify 'content' here.

80

Directions (Qs. 76-80): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Excessive gaming can negatively impact both (76)

____

and physical health, especially among young people. Social media frequently exposes users to (77)

____

content, which may influence their behaviour. However, the extent of this effect has not been widely studied. In this study, 25 young (78)

____

(average age 21.5) who played online games casually were examined. Participants reported their gaming desire after being exposed to gaming-related content on social media. An implicit association test (IAT) was also conducted to measure their implicit attitudes toward this content. Additionally, the relationship between these attitudes and psychological factors, such as personality traits and impulsiveness, was investigated. The results showed that participants had a stronger gaming desire when exposed to gaming cues as compared to (79)

____

content. They also had a positive implicit attitude towards gaming content. Moreover, higher levels of neuroticism were (80)

____

to correlate with greater explicit gaming desire.

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

A.founded
B.found
C.find
D.finds

Solution

Cloze: passive participle The clause is passive: 'higher levels of neuroticism were ___ to correlate with greater explicit gaming desire'. After the auxiliary 'were' a passive verb needs the past participle, and the past participle of 'find' is 'found'. 'Find' and 'finds' are finite present forms and cannot follow 'were'; 'founded' is the past participle of the different verb 'found', meaning to establish.