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

Concept: The passage asks why people yawn, so the blank needs a word meaning ‘cause’.

1. ‘Why do people yawn? No one seems to know the exact ___.’
2. The answer to ‘why’ is a reason.
3. ‘Explanation’ is close but ‘exact reason’ is the natural collocation answering ‘why’; ‘basis’ and ‘reality’ do not fit.

Yaad rakhein: Why? → reason; ‘the exact reason’ is a fixed collocation.

Answer: (C) reason

Concept: The blank joins two clauses showing the situation in which we yawn – a time/condition conjunction.

1. ‘We yawn ___ we do not have enough oxygen in our bodies.’
2. When = at the time/whenever this condition occurs – fits naturally.
3. ‘Why’ cannot join here; ‘while’ shows contrast/duration; ‘as’ is less natural with the general belief described.

Yaad rakhein: General condition → ‘when’ (we yawn when we are tired).

Answer: (A) when

Concept: The fixed phrase used to restate an idea is in other words.

1. The next sentence repeats the earlier idea more simply: we yawn to breathe in more oxygen.
2. Such restatement is introduced by ‘In other words’.
3. ‘In some/new/rather words’ are not English expressions.

Yaad rakhein: In other words = that is to say.

Answer: (D) other

Concept: We lack enough oxygen, so we yawn to take in more oxygen.

1. Earlier: ‘we do not have enough oxygen’.
2. The purpose of yawning, then, is to breathe in more oxygen.
3. ‘Less’ and ‘little’ contradict the logic; ‘much’ does not express the needed increase.

Yaad rakhein: Not enough → need more.

Answer: (D) more

Concept: The verb ‘associate’ takes the preposition with.

1. Associated with = connected with.
2. ‘Yawning is associated with boredom.’
3. ‘on’, ‘in’, ‘by’ are not used after ‘associated’ in this sense.

Yaad rakhein: Associate / connect / link → with.

Answer: (C) with

Concept: Look for the pirate expressions listed in the fourth paragraph.

1. The passage says pirates use terms like ‘shiver me timbers’, ‘avast’ and ‘yo-ho-ho’.
2. ‘Yo, dude!’, ‘Howdy, partner!’ and ‘Greetings, friend!’ are not mentioned.

Yaad rakhein: Fact questions: match the exact words in the passage.

Answer: (B) Shiver me timbers

Concept: Tone = the writer’s attitude shown through word choice.

1. Words like ‘just hilarious’, ‘Genius, right?’, ‘eternal game of hide-and-seek with themselves’ show light fun.
2. The conclusion: pirates are ‘pretty darn funny’.
3. It is not serious or angry; the playful teasing is good-natured, not biting sarcasm.

Yaad rakhein: Funny examples + light exclamations → humorous tone.

Answer: (D) Humorous

Concept: The third paragraph describes the writer’s ‘favourite pirate quirk’ – their love of treasure.

1. Pirates search for treasure for years, ‘only to bury it on some deserted island and forget where they put it’.
2. Basketball, cats and gardening are never mentioned (the passage mentions parrots, not cats).

Yaad rakhein: Quirk = odd habit; locate the paragraph using the keyword ‘quirk’.

Answer: (A) Their tendency to forget where they buried their treasure

Concept: A good title covers the whole passage – its main idea and tone.

1. The passage discusses several odd habits (parrots, eyepatches, treasure, language) in a funny way.
2. It ends: pirates are fierce but ‘pretty darn funny’ → The Humorous Quirks of Pirates.
3. ‘Mysterious Language’ covers only one paragraph; ‘Serious’ and ‘Fierce and Intimidating’ contradict the tone.

Yaad rakhein: Title = main idea + tone, not one detail.

Answer: (C) The Humorous Quirks of Pirates

Concept: The second paragraph gives ‘the real reason’ for eyepatches.

1. Some think it is because they lost an eye in battle, ‘but the real reason is … so they can switch the patch from eye to eye and maintain night vision in both eyes’.
2. So option (C) is the popular belief the writer rejects; birthmarks and intimidation are not mentioned.

Yaad rakhein: Watch for ‘but the real reason’ – it overrides the common belief.

Answer: (A) To maintain night vision in both eyes

Concept: An idiom has a fixed figurative meaning; go down in flames means to fail suddenly, completely and in a very public, dramatic way.

1. Picture a plane falling in flames – the failure is total and everyone sees it.
2. E.g. His campaign went down in flames after the scandal. = it failed spectacularly.
3. (B) and (D) describe literal burning/destruction; (C) crash and burn is just another idiom, not a meaning.

Yaad rakhein: Go down in flames = fail badly and visibly (spectacular failure).

Answer: (A) To fail spectacularly

Concept: Blue blood means noble or aristocratic birth – belonging to a royal or upper-class family.

1. In the sentence, only people of noble birth can dethrone the autocrat – this matches royal lineage.
2. The phrase comes from Spanish nobles whose pale skin showed bluish veins.
3. Political ideology, vigilant nature and bitter relations have no link with birth or family.

Yaad rakhein: Blue blood = royal/noble family (aristocracy).

Answer: (C) Aristocratic lineage

Concept: Sequence of tenses: when the main action is in the past (past continuous were driving), the sudden interrupting action is in the simple past.

1. We were driving home – past continuous, background action.
2. The interrupting action must also be past: a deer ran across the road, not runs.
3. Correct: We were driving home when suddenly a deer ran across the road.

Yaad rakhein: Past continuous + when + simple past (was doing … when X happened).

Answer: (C) a deer runs across the road

Concept: Condemn means to express strong disapproval of something publicly; its synonym is denounce.

1. E.g. Leaders condemned/denounced the attack.
2. Uphold (support) and tolerate (put up with) are nearly opposite.
3. Elevate means to raise – unrelated.

Yaad rakhein: Condemn = denounce = criticise strongly.

Answer: (D) Denounce

Concept: Demography is the statistical study of human populations – births, deaths, age groups, migration.

1. The underlined phrase a study of statistics (of population) is best replaced by Demography.
2. Choreography – designing dance steps; Cartography – map-making.
3. Cinematography – the art of film camera work.

Yaad rakhein: Demo = people, -graphy = writing/record → statistical record of people.

Answer: (A) Demography

Concept: The correct spelling is Entrepreneur (French entreprendre, to undertake) – entre, not enter.

1. Enterpreneur ✗ → Entrepreneur ✓.
2. Disseminate (double s), Dilemma (double m) and Accommodate (double c, double m) are all correct.

Yaad rakhein: ENTRE-PRE-NEUR: starts like entrance in French – e-n-t-r-e.

Answer: (B) Enterpreneur

Concept: An adverb of manner normally comes after an intransitive verb: slept soundly, not soundly slept, especially in perfect tenses (had slept soundly).

1. had soundly slept sounds unnatural; the idiomatic order is had slept soundly.
2. Correct: His energetic attitude showed that he had slept soundly the previous night.
3. Other segments are grammatically fine.

Yaad rakhein: Verb + adverb of manner: slept soundly, ran fast, spoke clearly.

Answer: (D) soundly slept

Concept: Cacophony means a harsh, unpleasant mixture of loud sounds – i.e. noise.

1. Greek kakos = bad + phone = sound.
2. The cacophony in the theatre = the loud noise in the theatre.
3. Silence is its opposite; smell and laughter do not match.

Yaad rakhein: Caco = bad, phony = sound → bad sound = noise.

Answer: (C) noise

Concept: Wicked means evil or morally wrong; its opposite is righteous (morally good, virtuous).

1. Evil and improper are close to wicked (synonyms), so they are wrong.
2. Clean refers to dirt/physical state, not morality.
3. Righteous = just, upright – the moral opposite.

Yaad rakhein: Wicked ↔ Righteous (bad ↔ morally good).

Answer: (C) Righteous

Concept: Take it with a grain of salt means to accept a statement with some doubt, not believing it completely.

1. Kalpana listened carefully but knew she should not trust every word – she was sceptical.
2. Hence: regard it as exaggerated and not completely true.
3. (A) is the opposite; (B) is unrelated; (D) is ungrammatical and literal.

Yaad rakhein: Grain of salt = a bit of doubt.

Answer: (C) regard it as exaggerated and not completely true