SSC CPO Paper I 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 PYQs

Concept: Mowgli is a famous, much-loved character of a classic – a positive adjective is needed.

1. 'beloved character' = dearly loved; fits 'classic' and later praise of the book.
2. overlooked, scorned, despised are negative and contradict the passage's admiring tone.

Trick: Classic + 'continues to captivate readers' → positive word.

Answer: (A) beloved

Concept: The collocation is experience adventures; the verb must also be singular present to match 'forms friendships'.

1. Mowgli experiences thrilling adventures and forms friendships…
2. exaggerates = overstates; enunciates = pronounces clearly; excavates = digs – none fit 'adventures'.

Trick: Adventures are experienced/undergone.

Answer: (D) experiences

Concept: Navigate challenges = find one's way through difficulties – the standard collocation.

1. He navigates the challenges of living among humans and jungle creatures.
2. customises = modifies to suit; procures = obtains; coordinates = organises – none collocate with 'challenges'.

Trick: navigate challenges / difficulties / obstacles.

Answer: (A) navigates

Concept: A classic book 'continues to captivate readers' = keeps attracting and holding their attention.

1. captivate readers of all ages – a natural positive collocation.
2. register, magnify make no sense with readers; manipulate is negative.

Trick: Books captivate/enthral/charm readers.

Answer: (B) captivate

Concept: The portrayal of a 'remarkable journey' and 'the beauty of the natural world' must be described positively – enchanting = delightfully charming.

1. Its enchanting portrayal… – matches 'captivate' and 'beauty'.
2. surprising is neutral; abnormal and ordinary contradict 'remarkable'.

Trick: Captivate + beauty + remarkable → enchanting.

Answer: (A) enchanting

Concept: In a 'find the word from the passage' question, the chosen word must (i) appear in the passage and (ii) carry the same meaning as the given word in that context.

1. The word in the passage that means 'create / bring about' is inducing ("…can destabilise faults, inducing earthquakes") – i.e. causing or producing them. It is not among the options.
2. Deplete = use up / reduce – it does not even occur in the passage.
3. Destabilise = make unsteady; Seismic = related to earthquakes (an adjective); Increase = make or become larger in amount – it means growing something that already exists, not creating it.
4. So none of the four options means 'create'.

Yaad rakhein: create ≈ produce, generate, cause, induce; increase ≈ raise, enlarge (not the same as create).

Answer: No option is correct – the passage word for 'create' is 'inducing', which is not given; so the question has no valid answer.

Concept: Tone is the writer's attitude, judged from the word choice and the way facts are presented.

1. The passage reports facts – the 2016 Pawnee earthquake, wastewater injection, mining, dams, the Wenchuan and Nepal quakes – and explains when human activity can trigger earthquakes. The tone is informative / objective, with some concern about the rising number of such quakes.
2. Dogmatic (stubbornly insisting one's view is right) – no; the writer is balanced: "In most of the cases industrial activities do not induce earthquakes."
3. Apologetic (expressing regret) – no apology is made.
4. Contemptuous (scornful) – no mocking or scornful words about the industries or agencies; Cynical (distrusting motives) – the writer does not doubt anyone's intentions.

Trick: A passage full of dates, data and cause–effect facts has an objective/informative tone; emotional labels like contemptuous or cynical need emotional words as proof.

Answer: None of the options fits – the tone is factual and concerned, not dogmatic, apologetic, contemptuous or cynical; so the question has no valid answer.

Concept: Locate the line: 'Such earthquakes are related to industrial activities such as mining, construction of water dams, injection of liquids…'.

1. The passage directly states human-caused earthquakes are related to industrial activities.
2. AI, population explosion and space expeditions are never mentioned.

Trick: Factual RC questions – match the exact wording in the passage.

Answer: (C) industrial activities

Concept: A good title covers the central idea: earthquakes induced by industrial activities (wastewater injection, mining, dams, oil and gas).

1. Central theme = danger from industrial activity → Industrial Threats.
2. 'Seismic Depression' is meaningless here; 'How Safe Are We on this Earth?' is too broad.
3. 'Man Vs Man' does not reflect the topic.

Trick: Title = main idea, neither too broad nor too narrow.

Answer: (C) Industrial Threats

Concept: The fourth paragraph says: 'With the ever-increasing demand for energy and mineral supplies worldwide, the number of human-caused earthquakes is expected to rise'.

1. Reason for the expected rise = demand for energy and minerals.
2. Greenhouse effect, fragility of the earth and soil erosion are not mentioned.

Trick: Look for 'expected to rise' in the passage – the cause is in the same sentence.

Answer: (C) It is due to the demand for energy and minerals.

Concept: The stage of life between childhood and adulthood, when a person is developing into an adult, is called adolescence.

1. Adolescence = the period of growth from puberty to adulthood – exactly the given description.
2. Teenage is an adjective/informal noun for ages 13–19 only; it does not name the developmental period precisely.
3. Childhood is the earlier stage; Adultery means a married person's unfaithfulness – totally unrelated.

Trick: Adolescent = 'growing up' (Latin adolescere = to grow up).

Answer: (A) Adolescence

Concept: A singular countable noun needs an article (a/an/the) before it.

1. 'Horse' is a singular countable noun used for the first time, so it needs the indefinite article 'a'.
2. Correct sentence: Mr. Thomas is going to buy a horse.
3. 'Mr. Thomas', 'is going' and 'to buy' are all correct.

Yaad rakhein: Singular countable noun can never stand alone – use a/an/the (a horse, an apple).

Answer: (D) horse

Concept: 'By the time' + subject needs a finite verb; with a past perfect main clause, the time clause takes the simple past.

1. 'I reaching' has no helping verb – a participle cannot act as the verb of a clause.
2. The main clause 'the train had departed' is past perfect, so the earlier-reference clause takes simple past: By the time I reached the metro station…
3. The other parts are correct.

Yaad rakhein: By the time + Simple Past, … Past Perfect (By the time I reached, the train had left).

Answer: (D) By the time I reaching

Concept: A single precise adjective is preferred over a weak 'adverb + adjective' phrase.

1. 'Extremely painful' = excruciating (intensely painful) – exact match.
2. Horrible = very unpleasant (not necessarily painful); extreme = very great (no idea of pain); devastating = destructive or shocking.
3. So 'caused excruciating headaches' keeps the meaning exactly.

Trick: Excruciating comes from Latin cruciare = to torture – pain of torture level.

Answer: (A) excruciating

Concept: Pacify means to calm someone who is angry or upset.

1. Soothe = to calm or comfort – same meaning as pacify.
2. Rebuke = scold; Blame = hold responsible; Strengthen = make strong – none means calming.
3. Example: The mother tried to pacify (soothe) the crying child.

Trick: Pacify has 'pax' (peace) – bring peace = soothe.

Answer: (D) Soothe

Concept: Choose the option that keeps the meaning of the underlined words: 'expand' = make larger.

1. Expand its business = make the business bigger = increase it.
2. 'To reduce', 'to contract' and 'to limit' all mean the opposite (make smaller).
3. Sentence: The company plans to increase its business to the international market.

Trick: Expand ↔ contract are opposites; expand ≈ increase/enlarge.

Answer: (C) to increase

Concept: Ephemeral means lasting for a very short time; the context 'bloom for only a short period' confirms it.

1. Opposite of short-lived = permanent (lasting for ever).
2. Transient is a synonym of ephemeral – a trap option.
3. Uniform = same throughout; Unwavering = steady/firm – not opposites of short-lived.

Yaad rakhein: Ephemeral = transient = fleeting ↔ permanent = eternal = everlasting.

Answer: (C) Permanent

Concept: Conservative = holding traditional values and disliking change.

1. Its opposite is liberal = open to new ideas and change.
2. Fantastic = wonderful; Determined = firm in purpose; Authentic = genuine – none is opposite.
3. Conservative vs liberal is a standard antonym pair (traditional vs progressive).

Yaad rakhein: Conservative ↔ Liberal / Progressive / Modern.

Answer: (A) Liberal

Concept: Nerves of steel describes a person who does not feel fear or nervousness even in difficult or dangerous situations.

1. Facing multiple obstacles without giving up shows she was not frightened or anxious – an absence of fear or anxiety.
2. Extraordinary beauty – unrelated; Relentless determination describes persistence, not freedom from fear.
3. Steel nerves = nerves that do not shake – no fear, no panic.

Trick: Nerves = anxiety; 'of steel' = unbreakable → fear cannot shake you.

Answer: (B) An absence of fear or anxiety

Concept: A substance that can be hammered or pressed into any desired shape without breaking is called malleable.

1. Tin (like gold, silver, aluminium) can be beaten into sheets – it is malleable.
2. Rigid = stiff, cannot bend; Immutable = unchangeable; Gullible = easily deceived (used for people).
3. Correct: Tin is malleable.

Yaad rakhein: Malleable (beaten into sheets) vs ductile (drawn into wires).

Answer: (A) malleable