SSC CHSL 2025 PYQs

Concept: Split a phrase into its words and combine their meanings.

1. Sophisticated = advanced, complex, refined.
2. Realignment = rearranging/restructuring into a new order.
3. Together: a complex and subtle restructuring; 'simplistic' contradicts 'sophisticated', 'chaotic'/'immediate reversal' add ideas not present.

Trick: Reject any option whose adjective is the opposite of the given adjective (simplistic ≠ sophisticated).

Answer: (A) a complex and subtle restructuring

Concept: Detail questions are answered by locating the exact line in the passage.

1. The 'However…' sentence of paragraph 2 lists three hurdles: too little varied data, high cost of integration, and bias in the code.
2. Option C repeats these barriers directly.
3. Speed is presented as a strength; mechanical parts and rural clinics are never mentioned.

Trick: Scan for signal words like 'However… obstacles' — the barriers follow right after.

Answer: (C) Insufficient access to diverse datasets and integration costs

Concept: Arrange events in the order they actually happen.

1. P: he picks the meal and clicks to order (first step).
2. Q: enters address and checks out → R: payment processed.
3. S: 'Now he waits' — natural ending. Order: P, Q, R, S.

Trick: Find the opener (first action) and the closer ('Now…'); the middle usually falls into place.

Answer: (A) P, Q, R, S

Concept: A growth story moves from learning → practice → achievement → final status.

1. Q: she reads plant guides (learning starts).
2. P: daily tending improves soil and pruning (practice).
3. S: grows a perfect rose for the contest (achievement) → R: now a gardener (conclusion).

Trick: R contains 'had mastered… was now' — a clear concluding sentence; only options ending in R remain (A, C), and Q must precede P.

Answer: (C) Q, P, S, R

Concept: Words that sound alike are chosen by meaning in context.

1. Council = an elected governing body → city council.
2. Counsel = advice (often legal) → legal counsel.
3. Cancel/conceal don't fit either blank.

Trick: Counsel = advice from a lawyer (both have 's'); council = group of people (both have 'c').

Answer: (A) council, counsel

Concept: Whatever word-type follows 'not only' must also follow 'but also'.

1. After 'not only' we have engaging (an -ing adjective).
2. After 'but also' we find the base verb inspire – the two halves do not match.
3. Correct: '…was not only engaging but also inspiring.'

Trick: Cover the connectors and read the two words side by side: engaging / inspire – the odd form is the error.

Answer: (D) but also inspire

Concept: As a verb, 'institute' means to start or set up something (a rule, an enquiry, a scheme).

1. INSTITUTE = establish / begin.
2. Commence = begin → same sense.
3. Abolish, Terminate, Dissolve all mean to end something – they are antonyms, not synonyms.

Trick: Three options share one meaning ('end'); the one that stands apart from that group is the answer.

Answer: (B) Commence

Concept: 'Deal out' = to hand out or distribute among people.

1. The teacher is giving papers to every student → distributing.
2. deal out = distribute ✔
3. deal with = handle a problem; deal in = trade in goods; 'deal off' is not standard English.

Trick: Think of a card dealer who 'deals out' cards to each player – same action as handing out papers.

Answer: (A) deal out

Concept: 'Tighten one's belt' = cut down spending because money is short.

1. Clue words: unexpected financial losses, stay afloat → need to save money.
2. tighten its belt = reduce expenses ✔
3. spill the beans = reveal a secret; hit the road = start a journey; pull someone's leg = joke with someone.

Trick: Money problem in the sentence → pick the money-saving idiom.

Answer: (B) tighten its belt

Concept: 'Cognitive' refers to thinking, understanding, learning and memory.

1. COGNITIVE = connected with the mind's thinking process.
2. Mental = of the mind ✔
3. Emotional = feelings, Physical = body, Spiritual = soul – none is about thinking.

Trick: Cognition ≈ 'knowing'; whatever knows and thinks is the mind → Mental.

Answer: (C) Mental

Concept: Direct-fact question: locate the line that names the place.

1. Opening line: shinrin-yoku 'originated in Japan in the 1980s'.
2. No other country appears in the passage.

Trick: 'Shinrin-yoku' is a Japanese term – the name itself points to Japan.

Answer: (B) Japan

Concept: Look for the 'not X; rather Y' line – Y is the real focus.

1. Passage: it is not about strenuous hiking or exercise …
2. … rather, it is about mindfully immersing oneself in the forest atmosphere with all five senses.
3. Collecting plants or identifying trees is never mentioned.

Trick: Option (A) is exactly what the passage rejects – eliminate it first.

Answer: (B) Mindfully immersing oneself in the forest atmosphere.

Concept: Definition questions are answered by the words placed right after the term.

1. Passage: '…phytoncides, airborne chemicals emitted by trees and plants'.
2. They are antimicrobial – they are not animals, body hormones or soil microbes.

Trick: Option (B) mixes in 'stress hormones' (cortisol) from another line – a classic trap.

Answer: (C) Airborne chemicals emitted by trees and plants.

Concept: For a NOT question, tick each option against the passage; the one with no support is the answer.

1. Lower blood pressure – stated ✔
2. Reduced stress hormones (cortisol) – stated ✔
3. More NK-cell activity – stated ✔
4. Physical endurance – not stated ✘ (the passage even says it is not about exercise).

Trick: Three options are lifted word-for-word from one sentence; the odd one out is the answer.

Answer: (D) Improving physical endurance.

Concept: Outcome questions are usually answered in the concluding lines.

1. The closing lines say the practice brings calm and well-being – exactly what busy urban living is missing.
2. Urban connectivity, competition and academic marks are not discussed.

Trick: Options with words like 'competition' clash with the passage's calm tone – reject them at once.

Answer: (C) A sense of calm and well-being.

Concept: 'Content' (adjective, stress on -TENT) = satisfied; 'content' (noun, stress on CON-) = what is inside.

1. Given sentence: 'felt content' → adjective = satisfied.
2. (B) 'was content to stay home' → satisfied ✔
3. (A), (C), (D) use the noun – matter inside a book/jar.

Trick: Replace the word with 'satisfied'; only option (B) still makes sense.

Answer: (B) He was content to stay home and read.

Concept: Pick the form that keeps the standard letter pattern without extra vowels.

1. Candice = Can + dice – ends in '-ice' with a 'c'.
2. Candise uses 's' in place of 'c'; Coundice and Caundiece add extra 'ou'/'au'/'ie'.

Trick: Options stuffed with extra vowel clusters (ou, au, ie) are usually the distorted ones.

Answer: (A) Candice

Concept: Archaeology = study of the human past through excavated remains; spelt with 'ae'.

1. Break it: ARCH + AE + OLOGY.
2. Arcology, Archology, Archolgy each lose letters ('h', 'ae' or 'o').

Trick: Same 'ae' as in aesthetic and encyclopaedia (British spelling) – the Greek 'ai' became 'ae'.

Answer: (A) Archaeology

Concept: 'Blow hot and cold' = keep switching between two opposite opinions; be undecided.

1. The idiom shows wavering – yes one moment, no the next.
2. (A) and (C) read the words literally.
3. (D) describes a one-time loss of interest, not repeated back-and-forth.

Trick: 'Hot ↔ cold' = flip-flop; look for the option that says 'changes mind repeatedly'.

Answer: (B) To be indecisive or change one's mind frequently

Concept: Effective = producing the intended result; its opposite = producing no result.

1. Fruitless = without result, useless ✔ (opposite).
2. Efficient, Potent, Powerful are near-synonyms of effective.

Trick: Three options are 'positive' words of the same family; the lone negative word is the antonym.

Answer: (C) Fruitless