SSC CGL 2025 PYQs

Concept: Tick off each option against the list of obstacles given in the passage.

1. Listed: temperature swings, low atmospheric pressure, high radiation, isolation stress (and the need to make breathable oxygen).
2. Martian plants and animals (flora and fauna) are never mentioned → (D).

Trick: In NOT-questions, the option introducing a brand-new idea absent from the text is the answer.

Answer: (D) Martian flora and fauna

Concept: The passage names NASA and the private company SpaceX for crewed Mars plans.

1. SpaceX is the only option named in the passage.
2. Chandrayaan (India), Chang'e (China) and Artemis (NASA) are Moon programmes.

Yaad rakhein: Artemis is NASA's crewed Moon programme; Mangalyaan (2013) was India's Mars orbiter.

Answer: (B) SpaceX

Concept: Ask why the detail is placed there – what idea it supports.

1. The passage says the law on extraterrestrial property is unclear.
2. It connects this to 'private and commercial rights' as corporations invest → ownership and business concerns.

Trick: The words right after the detail ('raising questions about…') usually state its purpose.

Answer: (A) To highlight commercial and ownership concerns

Concept: Pattern: advise + person (no 'to') + to + V1.

1. 'advised to her friend' is wrong – 'advise' takes the person directly.
2. After the object use the to-infinitive: 'to take precautions'.
3. Correct: 'She advised her friend to take precautions.'

Trick: Same pattern: tell/ask/order/request/warn + someone + to do.

Answer: (C) advised her friend to take precautions

Concept: Past perfect / 'might have + V3' cannot be shifted further back, so the words stay the same in direct speech.

1. 'had the committee reached…' (inverted if-clause) stays as it is.
2. 'might have been approved' stays; 'may', 'must', 'will' change the meaning.
3. So (B) keeps both parts unchanged.

Trick: Third conditional = Had + subject + V3, … would/might/could have + V3 – check the modal first.

Answer: (B) He said, "Had the committee reached a consensus earlier, the proposal might have been approved without objections."

Concept: Command: said to → told/advised + object + to + V1; pronouns change to the reporter's view.

1. 'said to the patient' → 'told the patient'.
2. 'Take…' → 'to take…'; 'avoid…' → 'to avoid…'; 'your' → 'his'.
3. (B) and (C) are ungrammatical; (D) leaves out 'avoid junk food'.

Trick: For two commands joined by 'and', both get 'to': 'to take … and to avoid …'.

Answer: (A) The doctor told the patient to take his medicines regularly and to avoid junk food.

Concept: Intro → problem (However) → balance (Despite) → solution.

1. 1 introduces AI transforming industries – opener.
2. 2 'However…' adds ethical concerns.
3. 4 'Despite the risks…' refers back to these concerns; 3 ends with the regulatory response → 1-2-4-3.

Trick: 'Despite the risks' (4) must come after the sentence that names the risks (2) – this alone eliminates (A).

Answer: (C) 1, 2, 4, 3

Concept: Subject + -ive = subjective (based on personal opinion).

1. Correct: SUB-JEC-TIVE.
2. 'subjectif' (French-style ending), 'subgective' (g for j), 'subjuctive' (u for e) are wrong.

Yaad rakhein: Opposite: objective – both keep the 'ject' root (as in project, reject).

Answer: (D) subjective

Concept: 'In the event of' is a fixed phrase; a noun made specific by a following phrase takes 'the'.

1. Blank 1: 'In the event of' – always 'the'.
2. Blank 2: 'protocol established by the IT department' is a particular protocol → 'the'.
3. So: the, the.

Trick: A noun followed by a defining phrase ('established by…', 'of the…') generally takes 'the'.

Answer: (A) the, the

Concept: Askew = not straight; tilted to one side.

1. Awry = out of the proper position, crooked – same meaning.
2. Straight, Right and Proper are opposite in sense.

Trick: Both start with 'a-' and mean 'off line': askew ≈ awry ≈ aslant.

Answer: (B) Awry

Concept: Innocuous = causing no harm.

1. Its opposite is a word meaning 'harmful'.
2. Pernicious = very harmful, often in a slow, hidden way → antonym.
3. Harmless, Inoffensive, Innocent are near-synonyms, not opposites.

Trick: Three options mean the same thing as the given word — the odd one out is the antonym.

Answer: (B) Pernicious

Concept: Going back to direct speech, undo all the changes of reported speech.

1. 'he' (speaker) → 'I'.
2. Past continuous 'was feeling' → present continuous 'am feeling'.
3. 'that day' → 'today'. Result: He stated, "I am feeling much better today."

Trick: In direct speech the speaker refers to himself as 'I' and the time words are 'today/now' — reject any option with 'he' or 'that day'.

Answer: (D) He stated, "I am feeling much better today."

Concept: Euphemism = a soft, polite word in place of a harsh one (e.g. 'passed away' for 'died').

1. Hyperbole = exaggeration.
2. Eulogy = speech praising someone, often after death.
3. Epithet = a descriptive title added to a name.

Trick: 'Eu' = good (Greek): euphemism = 'speaking well' of something unpleasant.

Answer: (D) Euphemism

Concept: Opening statement → details → inference → conclusion.

1. 1 introduces the topic (climate change as a threat).
2. 2 gives its effects; 3 begins 'These effects', so it must follow 2.
3. 4 starts with 'therefore' → conclusion. Order: 1-2-3-4.

Trick: Linkers fix the order: 'These' needs a previous sentence; 'therefore' closes.

Answer: (B) 1-2-3-4

Concept: 'Each of + plural noun' takes a singular verb.

1. The subject is 'Each', not 'candidates'.
2. Singular past passive: 'was asked'.
3. Correct: Each of the candidates was asked to submit his document before noon.

Trick: Each / Every / Either / Neither + of + plural → singular verb.

Answer: (A) was asked

Concept: Pessimist = one who always expects the worst.

1. Optimist = expects the best (opposite).
2. Determinist = believes all events are fixed by causes.
3. Realist = sees things as they actually are.

Trick: Pessimist ← Latin 'pessimus' = worst; Optimist ← 'optimus' = best.

Answer: (C) Pessimist

Concept: 'No sooner' is always followed by 'than'.

1. The sentence starts with 'No sooner had…', so the second clause begins with 'than'.
2. Correct: No sooner had the referee blown the whistle than the officials intervened.

Trick: No sooner → than; Hardly/Scarcely → when (comparative 'sooner' pairs with 'than').

Answer: (B) than

Concept: Harshness = roughness or severity, especially in tone or manner.

1. Asperity = harshness/sharpness of tone or temper → synonym.
2. Kindness, Softness, Delight are opposite in sense.

Trick: Asperity looks like 'asper' = rough (Latin) — think 'rough tone'.

Answer: (B) Asperity

Concept: The fixed expression is 'seldom, if ever' (= almost never).

1. 'Seldom' is already negative in sense; adding 'never' makes a double negative.
2. Correct: He seldom, if ever, agrees to attend public events without thorough preparation.

Trick: Seldom if ever / Seldom or never are idiomatic; 'seldom if never' is wrong.

Answer: (B) never

Concept: Preposterous = completely absurd.

1. Break it up: pre + post + er + ous → p-r-e-p-o-s-t-e-r-o-u-s.
2. Other options miss the 'e' after 't' or change the '-erous' ending.

Trick: Literally 'before-after' (pre + post) — something upside-down, hence absurd.

Answer: (B) preposterous