SSC CGL English – Speed Rounds – Tier II Level · Endurance Round
SSC CGL English – Speed Rounds – Tier II Level · Endurance Round – 45 questions, subject: English Language & Comprehension. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.
Link to this page from your website / blog (HTML code)
Read the passage and answer questions 51–55.
The last bus from the district town left at ten, and Arun was the only passenger who did not seem to be asleep. He had missed the earlier bus because his interview had run late, and he was worried that his mother would wait up for him.
Halfway through the journey the bus stopped with a jolt. The driver climbed down, looked at the front wheel and announced that a tyre had burst. The spare, he admitted, had been used the week before and never replaced. Some passengers grumbled; one old man began to complain loudly about the transport department.
Arun noticed a dhaba with its lights still on a little way ahead. He walked there, asked the owner whether anyone nearby repaired tyres, and came back with a young mechanic who lived behind the shop. While the mechanic worked, the owner sent tea for everyone. The old man, who had complained the loudest, insisted on paying for it.
The bus reached the village after midnight. Arun's mother was waiting, as he had feared, but she did not scold him. She only asked whether he had eaten, and whether the interview had gone well. He told her that he did not yet know, but that he had learnt something on the road that no interview could have taught him.
Correct Answer: D [His interview had run late and he had missed the earlier bus.]
Explanation:
Evidence: 'He had missed the earlier bus because his interview had run late'.
RC – detailPassage A: Why could the burst tyre not be changed at once?
Correct Answer: C [The spare tyre had been used earlier and not replaced.]
Explanation:
Evidence: 'The spare … had been used the week before and never replaced'.
RC – detailPassage A: What did Arun do when the bus broke down?
Correct Answer: D [He found a mechanic with the help of a dhaba owner.]
Explanation:
Evidence: 'asked the owner whether anyone nearby repaired tyres, and came back with a young mechanic'.
RC – inferencePassage A: What does the old man's offer to pay for the tea suggest?
Correct Answer: C [His mood had changed from complaining to generosity.]
Explanation:
He 'had complained the loudest' but then 'insisted on paying' – a change of mood once the problem was being solved.
RC – inferencePassage A: What did Arun most likely learn 'on the road'?
Correct Answer: B [that calmly solving a problem helps more than complaining about it]
Explanation:
Arun acted while others grumbled, and even the loudest complainer was won over.
Read the passage and answer questions 56–60.
In some villages the old panchayat reading room had been locked for years. Newspapers had stopped coming, the shelves were empty, and young people preferred to read on their phones. Now groups of volunteers and local bodies in some places have begun to reopen such rooms.
A reading room offers something a phone does not: a quiet place to sit, good light in the evening and a table to write at. Students preparing for competitive examinations use it to study together, older people come in for the newspaper, and children borrow storybooks they could not otherwise afford.
The challenge is to keep these rooms alive once the first excitement fades. Books have to be replaced, someone must open and close the room every day, and the electricity bill has to be paid. Where the villagers themselves share these tasks, the reading room tends to survive; where it depends on a single enthusiastic person, it often closes again when that person moves away.
Correct Answer: A [Newspapers stopped coming, the shelves were empty and young people read on phones.]
Explanation:
Evidence: 'Newspapers had stopped coming, the shelves were empty, and young people preferred to read on their phones'.
RC – detailPassage B: What does a reading room offer that a phone does not?
Correct Answer: C [a quiet place, good evening light and a table to write at]
Explanation:
Evidence: 'a quiet place to sit, good light in the evening and a table to write at'.
RC – NOT mentionedPassage B: Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a use of the reading room?
Correct Answer: B [attending online classes on computers]
Explanation:
Studying together, newspapers and storybooks are mentioned; computers and online classes are not.
RC – vocabularyPassage B: The word 'fades', as used in the passage, means:
Correct Answer: D [slowly becomes weaker]
Explanation:
fade = gradually lose strength; the excitement of the reopening wears off.
RC – detailPassage B: According to the passage, when does a reading room tend to survive?
Correct Answer: A [when the villagers themselves share the work of running it]
Explanation:
Evidence: 'Where the villagers themselves share these tasks, the reading room tends to survive'.
Read the passage and answer questions 61–65.
Walk into some grocery shops today and you may see a row of large containers filled with oil, washing liquid, pulses and grains. Customers bring their own bottles and bags, fill them, and pay by weight. These refill stations are a small answer to a large problem: the plastic packaging that is thrown away after a single use.
Much single-use plastic is never recycled. It ends up in drains, rivers and open land, where it can take a very long time to break down. Refill shops reduce this waste at the source, because the packaging is never produced in the first place.
The habit asks something of the customer, however. One has to remember to carry containers, plan purchases in advance and sometimes travel further to find such a shop. For this reason, supporters argue that refill stations work best when they are found in ordinary neighbourhood stores rather than only in special shops. Convenience, they say, decides whether a good habit spreads or remains a fashion of the few.
Correct Answer: D [The packaging is never produced in the first place.]
Explanation:
Evidence: 'Refill shops reduce this waste at the source, because the packaging is never produced in the first place'.
RC – detailPassage C: What must a customer do to buy from a refill station?
Correct Answer: B [bring his or her own bottles and bags]
Explanation:
Evidence: 'Customers bring their own bottles and bags, fill them, and pay by weight'.
RC – detailPassage C: Where, according to supporters, do refill stations work best?
Correct Answer: C [in ordinary neighbourhood stores]
Explanation:
Evidence: 'work best when they are found in ordinary neighbourhood stores rather than only in special shops'.
RC – phrase meaningPassage C: The phrase 'a fashion of the few' suggests a habit that is:
Correct Answer: A [followed by only a small group of people]
Explanation:
The contrast is with a habit that 'spreads'; a fashion of the few stays limited to a small group.
RC – main ideaPassage C: Which statement best sums up the passage?
Correct Answer: A [Refill stations can cut single-use plastic, but they spread only if they are convenient.]
Explanation:
Paragraphs 1–2: the benefit; paragraph 3: convenience decides whether the habit spreads.
Read the passage and choose the most appropriate option for each numbered blank (questions 66–70).
During the long summer holidays, Kavya decided to learn pottery from videos. She soon discovered that watching a skill is very different (1) ______ practising it. Her first pots collapsed on the wheel, and the clay seemed to have a mind of its (2) ______.
Instead of giving up, she wrote to the potter whose videos she followed. To her surprise, he replied within a day and advised her (3) ______ less water. Slowly her hands grew steadier. By the end of the holidays she had made a set of small bowls, (4) ______ of which was perfect, but all of which were hers. She now believes that patience matters (5) ______ than talent.
Correct Answer: D [from]
Explanation:
Fixed partner: different from.
Cloze – idiomCloze 3 – blank (2): choose the most appropriate option.
Correct Answer: C [own]
Explanation:
Fixed phrase: a mind of its own.
Cloze – grammarCloze 3 – blank (3): choose the most appropriate option.
Correct Answer: B [to use]
Explanation:
advise + object + to + verb.
Cloze – grammarCloze 3 – blank (4): choose the most appropriate option.
Correct Answer: D [none]
Explanation:
More than two bowls, singular 'was', and contrast with 'but all of which were hers' → none.
Cloze – grammarCloze 3 – blank (5): choose the most appropriate option.
Correct Answer: B [more]
Explanation:
Comparison with 'than' needs the comparative → more.
No sooner did the match begin / when it started / to rain / heavily.
Correct Answer: B [when it started]
Explanation:
No sooner is always followed by 'than'.
Everyone says that / the furniture / in the new office / are very expensive.
Correct Answer: D [are very expensive.]
Explanation:
'Furniture' is uncountable and takes a singular verb.
She made / her younger brother / to apologise / for his rude remark.
Correct Answer: C [to apologise]
Explanation:
make + object + base form (no 'to').
Ravi is / more taller / than any other boy / in his class.
Correct Answer: B [more taller]
Explanation:
Double comparative: 'taller' already means 'more tall'.
He avoided / to answer / my question / during the meeting.
Correct Answer: B [to answer]
Explanation:
'avoid' is followed by the -ing form.
The manager, along with his assistants, were present at the meeting.
Correct Answer: A [was present]
Explanation:
'along with' does not change the subject 'The manager' (singular, past).
I have met him last Monday at the station.
Correct Answer: C [met]
Explanation:
'last Monday' is a finished past time → simple past.
He prefers walking than driving.
Correct Answer: B [prefers walking to driving]
Explanation:
prefer A to B.
If the farmers would have got rain in July, the crop would have survived.
Correct Answer: A [had got]
Explanation:
Third conditional: if + had + past participle.
She is good ______ mathematics.
Correct Answer: C [at]
Explanation:
Fixed partner: good at (a subject or skill).
The patient ______ before the doctor arrived.
Correct Answer: A [had died]
Explanation:
The earlier of two past actions → past perfect.
There is ______ milk left in the jug; please buy some more.
Correct Answer: D [little]
Explanation:
Milk is uncountable, so few / a few / many cannot be used; 'little' = hardly any.
DEXTEROUS
Correct Answer: B [skilful]
Explanation:
dexterous = skilful; clumsy is the opposite.
GREGARIOUS
Correct Answer: A [sociable]
Explanation:
gregarious = sociable; reserved is the opposite.
AUDACIOUS
Correct Answer: C [timid]
Explanation:
audacious means bold; its opposite is timid.
PROFOUND
Correct Answer: C [superficial]
Explanation:
profound means deep; its opposite is superficial.
Correct Answer: D [acquaintance]
Explanation:
acquaintance – 'acq' at the start and '-ance' at the end.
Missing the train turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because I met an old friend at the station.
Correct Answer: A [something that seems bad at first but turns out to be good]
Explanation:
'a blessing in disguise' = something that seems bad at first but turns out to be good.
I have made my best offer; now the ball is in your court.
Correct Answer: B [it is your turn to act or decide]
Explanation:
'the ball is in your court' = it is your turn to act or decide.
A person who is present at an event but does not take part
Correct Answer: C [bystander]
Explanation:
bystander = one who is present but does not take part.
A list of items to be discussed at a meeting
Correct Answer: A [agenda]
Explanation:
agenda = the list of items for a meeting; minutes = the record written after it.
The committee will announce the results tomorrow.
Correct Answer: D [The results will be announced by the committee tomorrow.]
Explanation:
Simple future → will be + past participle; the tense stays the same.
She said to him, "Did you lock the door?"
Correct Answer: B [She asked him if he had locked the door.]
Explanation:
Yes/no question → asked + if; statement order; did lock → had locked.
P. Then one morning she noticed a tiny green shoot pushing through the soil.
Q. Rekha planted a mango seed in a pot on her balcony.
R. Today that shoot is a sapling taller than her son.
S. For weeks nothing seemed to happen, and she almost forgot about it.
Correct Answer: C [QSPR]
Explanation:
Q introduces the seed; S the waiting; P 'Then one morning' the shoot; R 'Today' the result.
P. Students welcomed the decision, since many of them had no quiet place to study at home.
Q. Encouraged by this response, the library decided to make the late hours permanent.
R. The library announced that it would stay open late during the examination month.
S. Within a week, almost every table was occupied until closing time.
