SSC CHSL 2015 PYQs

Question 1

The promise was broken by him

Accepted Answer

The given sentence is in passive voice and is grammatically correct. There are no errors in its structure or word usage.

Question 2

Politics is the last_____________of scoundrels.

Accepted Answer

The phrase 'last resort' means a final course of action when all others have failed. This fits the context of politics being the final refuge for scoundrels.

Question 3

You must keep your promises.

Accepted Answer

To change an active sentence with a modal verb (must) to passive voice, the structure is 'modal + be + past participle'. Thus, 'must be kept' is correct.

Question 4

Rakesh founds the newspaper very dull

Accepted Answer

The verb 'founds' is incorrect here. For a past event, the simple past tense 'found' should be used, making 'Rakesh found' the correct form.

Question 5

How manycountry are there inEurope ?

Accepted Answer

The phrase 'How many' requires a plural noun, so 'country' should be 'countries'. The verb 'are' correctly matches the plural subject.

Question 6

1. The watchmanP. and found two thievesQ. woke up whenR. with black masksS. he heard the dog barking6. Trying to get in

Accepted Answer

The correct sequence starts with the watchman waking up (Q), then hearing the dog bark (S), followed by finding thieves (P), who were wearing black masks (R). The final part 'Trying to get in' logically connects to the thieves.

Question 7

This argument does not hold water.

Accepted Answer

The idiom 'does not hold water' means an argument is not sound or logical. Therefore, 'Seem logical' is the opposite, implying it does hold water.

Question 8

Before every meal the head of the family would provoke God’s blessings.

Accepted Answer

The verb 'provoke' means to intentionally make someone angry or to cause a reaction. The correct verb to use with 'blessings' is 'invoke' or 'seek', meaning to call upon or ask for.

Question 9

Ranihas completedher graduation from a reputed university last year.

Accepted Answer

The phrase 'last year' indicates a specific time in the past, requiring the simple past tense. 'Completed' is correct, so no improvement is needed.

Question 10

The Sutlej has changed itspath

Accepted Answer

The correct word to describe the path of a river is 'course'. 'Course' specifically refers to the direction or route taken by a river.

Question 11

1. The studentsP. touched theQ. arrived andR. their teacherS. feet of6. With reverence

Accepted Answer

The correct sequence starts with 'The students arrived and' (Q), followed by 'touched the' (P), then 'feet of' (S), and finally 'their teacher' (R). This forms a grammatically coherent sentence.

Question 12

The truant school boy told cock-and -bull stories to escape punishment.

Accepted Answer

The idiom 'cock-and-bull stories' refers to tales that are obviously untrue and absurd. Therefore, 'absurd unbelievable' is the correct meaning.

Question 13

I have been invited to a party hosted by my cousin sister.

Accepted Answer

The sentence is grammatically correct. 'Cousin sister' is acceptable in informal English, and the passive voice construction is correctly formed.

Question 14

The terrorist as well as his accompliceswas killedin the  encounter.

Accepted Answer

When 'as well as' connects two subjects, the verb agrees with the first subject. Here, 'terrorist' is singular, so 'was killed' is correct.

Question 15

The medicine must betakeby you

Accepted Answer

In passive voice, 'must be' is followed by the past participle (V3) form of the verb. Therefore, 'take' should be 'taken'.

Question 16

1. This summer was the mostP. to believe that nextQ. and we have reasonR. scorching in living memory,S. year and the year after6. Will be hotter still

Accepted Answer

The sentence starts with 'This summer was the most'. 'R. scorching in living memory' logically follows. Then 'Q. and we have reason' connects to 'P. to believe that next' and finally 'S. year and the year after' completes the thought.

Question 17

Rohini reached the examination hall in the nick of time.

Accepted Answer

The idiom 'in the nick of time' means at the very last moment, just before it's too late. Option 1, 'Just in time', accurately conveys this meaning.

Question 18

Dogs soon recognize the persons by whom they are kindly treated.

Accepted Answer

The sentence is grammatically correct. 'By whom' is correctly used as a relative pronoun referring to 'persons' and indicating the agent of the action.

Question 19

The Councillor behaves as if theisthe Chief Minister.

Accepted Answer

The phrase 'as if' indicates a hypothetical or unreal situation. In such cases, the subjunctive mood is used, requiring 'were' regardless of the subject's number or person.

Question 20

We stayed in Mumbaiinfive days

Accepted Answer

The preposition 'for' is used to indicate a duration of time. 'In five days' implies completion within that period, not the duration of stay.