SSC CGL English – Mock Test 3 – Tier II English (Paper I, Sec. II, Part A) – Mock Test 3 · Tier II English
SSC CGL English – Mock Test 3 – Tier II English (Paper I, Sec. II, Part A) – Mock Test 3 · Tier II English – 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.
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The teacher, together with her students, / were planting / trees in the school garden.
Correct Answer: B [were planting]
Explanation:
A phrase with 'together with' does not change the subject 'The teacher' → 'was planting'.
Scarcely had the guests left / than the lights / went out.
Correct Answer: B [than the lights]
Explanation:
'Scarcely … when' is the fixed pair; 'than' goes with 'No sooner'.
He has been living / in this city / for the last ten years.
Correct Answer: D [No error]
Explanation:
'for the last ten years' is a period up to now (unfinished time) → present perfect continuous is right.
The harder you work, / more successful / you will be.
Correct Answer: B [more successful]
Explanation:
The … -er, the more … → 'the more successful'.
He is more stronger than his brother.
Correct Answer: B [stronger]
Explanation:
Double comparative → 'stronger'.
She has been absent since Monday.
Correct Answer: D [No improvement]
Explanation:
Starting point (Monday) with the present perfect → 'since'.
The boy who's bag was stolen went to the police.
Correct Answer: C [whose]
Explanation:
Possession → 'whose'; 'who's' = who is.
Walking along the beach, the sun set slowly behind us.
Correct Answer: A [As we walked along the beach]
Explanation:
The sun was not walking: the opening phrase needs its own subject → 'As we walked along the beach'.
The thief ran away _______ the police could catch him.
Correct Answer: A [before]
Explanation:
He escaped earlier than the police could catch him → 'before'.
Despite _______ hard, he could not finish the work in time.
Correct Answer: D [trying]
Explanation:
'Despite' is a preposition → noun or -ing form: 'despite trying'.
His _______ nature made him popular with everyone.
Correct Answer: B [amiable]
Explanation:
Being popular is caused by a friendly nature → 'amiable'.
The villagers were digging a well.
Correct Answer: C [A well was being dug by the villagers.]
Explanation:
Past continuous → was being + V3; dig – dug – dug.
The thief has been arrested by the police.
Correct Answer: D [The police have arrested the thief.]
Explanation:
'has been arrested' = present perfect → 'have arrested'; 'police' always takes a plural verb.
She said to me, "Please lend me your pen."
Correct Answer: A [She requested me to lend her my pen.]
Explanation:
A polite request → requested + object + to-infinitive; me → her, your → my.
He said, "I have lost my wallet."
Correct Answer: C [He said that he had lost his wallet.]
Explanation:
I → he, my → his; present perfect → past perfect; 'told' needs an object.
The old man …
P. the sweetest mangoes
Q. who lives next door
R. in his small garden
S. grows
Correct Answer: B [QSPR]
Explanation:
The relative clause (Q) follows 'The old man'; then verb (S), object (P), place (R).
P. As a result, the bus arrived late at every stop.
Q. Many passengers missed the start of their office day.
R. Heavy rain flooded the main road on Monday morning.
S. The driver had to take a long detour through narrow lanes.
Correct Answer: D [RSPQ]
Explanation:
Cause (R) → detour (S) → 'As a result' late bus (P) → effect on passengers (Q).
TENACIOUS
Correct Answer: C [persistent]
Explanation:
tenacious = holding firmly to a purpose, persistent.
COURTEOUS
Correct Answer: B [polite]
Explanation:
courteous = polite and respectful.
TRANSIENT
Correct Answer: A [permanent]
Explanation:
transient = lasting a short time; opposite = permanent.
FRAIL
Correct Answer: B [robust]
Explanation:
frail = physically weak; opposite = robust.
to burn one's boats
Correct Answer: D [to take a step that makes going back impossible]
Explanation:
Burning the boats leaves no way to retreat.
A person who is recovering from an illness
Correct Answer: A [convalescent]
Explanation:
convalescent = one who is getting better after an illness; an invalid is ill or disabled for a long time.
Correct Answer: C [occasion]
Explanation:
Double c, single s: o-cc-a-s-ion.
The two friends _______ after a minor argument but made up the next day.
Correct Answer: B [fell out]
Explanation:
fall out = quarrel; 'made up' (became friends again) confirms it.
Read the passage and choose the most appropriate option for each numbered blank (questions 26–30).
Every spring, the farmers of a small hill village meet (1) _______ the temple courtyard for a seed exchange. Each family brings small cloth bags of seeds (2) _______ it has saved from its best plants. No money changes hands; seeds are simply swapped.
Older farmers say that the custom (3) _______ them to keep old varieties alive. Young farmers, (4) _______, value the chance to learn which seeds suit the local soil. By the end of the day, every family goes home with seeds it did not have before, and the village's store of knowledge has grown a (5) _______ richer.
Correct Answer: C [in]
Explanation:
Inside an enclosed area → 'in the courtyard'; no movement, so not 'into'.
Cloze – grammarCloze – blank (2): choose the most appropriate option.
Correct Answer: D [that]
Explanation:
Relative pronoun for things (seeds) → 'that'.
Cloze – grammarCloze – blank (3): choose the most appropriate option.
Correct Answer: A [helps]
Explanation:
Singular subject 'the custom' → 'helps'.
Cloze – connectorCloze – blank (4): choose the most appropriate option.
Correct Answer: D [on the other hand]
Explanation:
Older farmers' view is set against the young farmers' view → contrast.
Cloze – grammarCloze – blank (5): choose the most appropriate option.
Correct Answer: B [little]
Explanation:
'a little' + comparative = slightly more; 'few' needs a plural noun.
Read the passage and answer questions 31–35.
Before the final kabaddi match of the district tournament, Selvi, the captain of the girls' team, faced a difficult choice. Their best raider, Priya, had twisted her ankle in practice the day before. Priya insisted that she could play, and the coach left the decision to Selvi.
Selvi knew that with Priya on the mat they had a better chance of winning. But she had also seen Priya wince every time she put weight on her foot. If the injury became worse, Priya might miss the whole season. After a sleepless night, Selvi chose Kavitha, a quiet girl who had spent most of the season on the bench.
The match was close. Kavitha's raids were not as daring as Priya's, but she was careful and calm, and in the last minute she touched two defenders and returned safely. The team won by a single point. As the girls lifted Kavitha onto their shoulders, Priya, sitting on the bench with her foot wrapped in a bandage, clapped louder than anyone.
Correct Answer: C [Her best raider was injured but wanted to play.]
Explanation:
Priya had twisted her ankle yet 'insisted that she could play'.
RC – inferencePassage A: Why did Selvi decide not to field Priya?
Correct Answer: A [She feared that playing could make Priya's injury worse.]
Explanation:
'If the injury became worse, Priya might miss the whole season.'
RC – detailPassage A: How is Kavitha's play in the final described?
Correct Answer: C [careful and calm, though less daring than Priya's]
Explanation:
'not as daring as Priya's, but she was careful and calm'.
RC – vocabularyPassage A: The word 'wince', as used in the passage, means:
Correct Answer: D [to make a slight movement of the face that shows pain]
Explanation:
Priya winced when she put weight on the injured foot – a sign of pain.
RC – inferencePassage A: What does Priya's reaction at the end show?
Correct Answer: B [She was genuinely happy for her teammate's success.]
Explanation:
She 'clapped louder than anyone' as the team celebrated Kavitha.
Read the passage and answer questions 36–40.
In many towns, parents who once walked to school as children now drive their own children there, even when the school is close by. Busy roads, worries about safety and tight morning schedules are the usual reasons. Yet some neighbourhoods are trying a simple idea called the walking bus.
A walking bus works like an ordinary school bus, except that it has no wheels. One or two adult volunteers walk a fixed route at a fixed time, and children join the 'bus' at 'stops' near their homes. The group walks together, and the adults make sure that roads are crossed safely.
Supporters say that the benefits go beyond safety. Children get some exercise before classes begin, they make friends from other streets, and they learn to notice their surroundings. Fewer cars near the school gate at the start of the day also mean less noise and smoke.
The idea is not without difficulties. It depends on volunteers who can give their time every morning, and in heavy rain or extreme heat parents may still prefer the car. But where a few families have kept it going, the walking bus has turned a stressful morning rush into a shared and cheerful routine.
Correct Answer: A [a group of children who walk to school along a fixed route with adult volunteers]
Explanation:
Adult volunteers walk a fixed route; children join at 'stops'.
RC – NOT mentionedPassage B: Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a benefit of the walking bus?
Correct Answer: B [It reduces school fees.]
Explanation:
Exercise, friends and less noise/smoke are mentioned; fees are not.
RC – detailPassage B: According to the passage, when might parents still prefer the car?
Correct Answer: C [in heavy rain or extreme heat]
Explanation:
'in heavy rain or extreme heat parents may still prefer the car'.
RC – vocabularyPassage B: The word 'routine', as used in the passage, means:
Correct Answer: A [a regular way of doing things]
Explanation:
A daily walk repeated every morning is a routine.
RC – tonePassage B: What is the author's attitude towards the walking bus?
Correct Answer: D [generally supportive, while admitting its difficulties]
Explanation:
Benefits are described warmly, and 'The idea is not without difficulties' admits problems.
Read the passage and answer questions 41–45.
In a few neighbourhoods, a new kind of fridge has appeared on the pavement. It belongs to no one in particular. Households, shops and small restaurants leave food that they cannot use – fresh fruit, bread, cooked meals packed in boxes – and anyone who needs it may take it, without questions or forms.
The idea behind the community fridge is simple: food that would otherwise be thrown away should reach people who are hungry. Supporters point out that the fridge also changes how neighbours see one another. A family that once felt ashamed to ask for help can now take a meal quietly, and a shopkeeper who used to throw away unsold bread feels that his surplus has a purpose.
Running such a fridge, however, needs care. Someone must check every day that the food is fresh and properly labelled, and that the fridge is clean. Without such volunteers, a good idea can quickly turn into a health risk.
Where these conditions are met, the community fridge shows that sharing does not always need a large organisation. Sometimes a single machine and a few careful volunteers are enough.
Correct Answer: C [to make sure that unused food reaches people who need it]
Explanation:
'food that would otherwise be thrown away should reach people who are hungry'.
RC – detailPassage C: Who leaves food in the fridge, according to the passage?
Correct Answer: A [households, shops and small restaurants]
Explanation:
The first paragraph names households, shops and small restaurants.
RC – detailPassage C: According to the passage, what could turn the idea into a health risk?
Correct Answer: D [a lack of volunteers to check freshness and cleanliness]
Explanation:
'Without such volunteers, a good idea can quickly turn into a health risk.'
RC – vocabularyPassage C: The word 'surplus', as used in the passage, means:
Correct Answer: B [an amount that is more than what is needed]
Explanation:
Unsold bread that he does not need = surplus.
RC – inferencePassage C: Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
