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

Concept: Relative pronoun who for persons; indefinite article a before a profession mentioned for the first time.

1. cousin is a person → who, not which.
2. Profession as complement → a lawyer (he is one of many lawyers).
3. One morning I went out with my cousin who is a lawyer.

Yaad rakhein: He is a doctor / an engineer – profession takes a/an.

Answer: (D) who is a

Concept: Exonerate = to declare someone free from blame or guilt.

1. absolve, vindicate, acquit all mean to clear of blame – synonyms.
2. The opposite is to declare guilty and punish = sentence.
3. So the antonym is sentence.

Trick: Court: acquit/exonerate ↔ convict/sentence.

Answer: (D) sentence

Concept: A form of a language peculiar to a particular region = dialect (बोली).

1. slang = very informal words used by a group, not tied to a region.
2. jargon = technical words of a profession; lingo = informal word for a language or jargon.
3. Regional variety of a language → dialect.

Yaad rakhein: Bhojpuri, Awadhi are dialects of Hindi – regional forms.

Answer: (B) dialect

Concept: Past perfect continuous (had been + V-ing) shows an action that continued for a period before another past action.

1. The waiting (for forty minutes) went on before the past event my name was announced.
2. 'for + period' + earlier past action → had been waiting.
3. am/have been waiting are present forms; were does not agree with I.

Trick: Duration + 'before' + simple past → had been + V-ing.

Answer: (C) had been waiting

Concept: Indefinite pronouns like everybody are singular and take singular verbs.

1. Everybody → singular verb agrees; in the relative clause who refers to everybody → knows.
2. whom cannot be the subject of know; agrees if changes the meaning – agree that introduces the statement.
3. Everybody who knows him agrees that he rarely loses his temper.

Yaad rakhein: Everybody / everyone / each → singular verb, even in the 'who' clause.

Answer: (C) who knows him agrees that

Concept: Spelling check of each option.

1. midget, militant, migraine – correct.
2. The correct spelling is migrant (one who migrates) – ending -ant, not -ent.
3. So migrent is wrongly spelt.

Trick: migrate → migrant (like immigrant).

Answer: (C) migrent

Concept: Chaste = pure, virtuous; simple and undecorated in style.

1. pure = morally clean – same sense.
2. defiled (made impure) is the antonym; divine = godly, liberated = set free – different meanings.
3. So the synonym is pure.

Yaad rakhein: Chaste ≈ pure; chastity = purity.

Answer: (B) pure

Concept: Passive voice with a modal: modal + be + V3.

1. The person does not fine himself; he receives the action → passive.
2. Correct: Anybody who does not stop at the red light will be fined.
3. will fined misses be, so the error is in that segment.

Trick: will/can/must/should + be + V3 in passive.

Answer: (A) will fined

Concept: Irrelevant = not connected with the matter; unimportant.

1. trivial, immaterial, pointless all mean unimportant – synonyms.
2. consequential = important, significant, having consequences – the opposite.
3. So the antonym is consequential.

Trick: Immaterial = irrelevant; consequential = it matters.

Answer: (A) consequential

Concept: The verb need (as a main verb) is followed by a to-infinitive when the subject must do the action.

1. You need to take some guidance – the subject 'you' must take it.
2. take (bare) is wrong after main verb 'need'; need taking has a passive sense (it needs to be taken).
3. to be taking is continuous and does not suit a general necessity.

Yaad rakhein: need + to + V1 (active); need + V-ing = needs to be done.

Answer: (A) to take

Concept: Spelling rule: i before e except after c.

1. decease, decibel, decency – correct.
2. After c the order is ei: deceive (like receive, conceive).
3. So decieve is wrongly spelt.

Yaad rakhein: 'i before e, except after c' – receive, deceive, perceive.

Answer: (B) decieve

Concept: Prodigal = spending money or resources freely and recklessly; extravagant.

1. wasteful = using more than needed – same sense.
2. Do not confuse with prodigy (a talented child) – so talented, intelligent are traps.
3. modest is unrelated. Synonym = wasteful.

Yaad rakhein: The Prodigal Son wasted his father's wealth.

Answer: (C) wasteful

Concept: Usurp = to take (power, a position or property) illegally or by force.

1. wrest, annex, assume all involve seizing or taking over – similar sense.
2. The opposite is to give up / let go = release.
3. So the antonym is release.

Trick: Usurp the throne = seize it; release = let it go.

Answer: (D) release

Concept: Get your money's worth = to get full value for the money you spend.

1. Example: The buffet was huge – we really got our money's worth.
2. Being cheated, poor quality or something too expensive is the opposite idea.
3. So it means: to pay and get something of good value.

Yaad rakhein: Worth of money = value equal to the money paid.

Answer: (A) to pay and get something of good value

Concept: Admonish = to warn or reprimand someone firmly.

1. scold, chide, warn – all synonyms of admonish.
2. The opposite is to praise = applaud.
3. So the antonym is applaud.

Trick: Admonish ↔ applaud / praise / commend.

Answer: (D) applaud

Concept: Fact-based question – locate the leading producing states named in the passage.

1. Passage: '... with Tamil Nadu ($20\%$), Karnataka ($13.5\%$), West Bengal ($12.2\%$) having gone ahead of other producing states ...'
2. Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Assam, Chhattisgarh are listed among the other states.
3. So the three major cultivators are Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West Bengal.

Trick: Pick the states with percentages – they are the leaders.

Answer: (D) Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West Bengal

Concept: Look for the cause the passage directly links to export-oriented floriculture.

1. Passage: 'The liberalisation of industrial and trade policies paved the way for development of export-oriented production of cut flowers.'
2. Greenhouse technology and the seed policy are mentioned as supporting factors, and the importing countries are only listed – not given as the trigger.
3. So the major fillip came from liberalisation of industrial and trade policies.

Trick: 'paved the way' = gave the major push (fillip).

Answer: (D) The liberalisation of industrial and trade policies by the government

Concept: The main theme covers the whole passage, not just one paragraph.

1. The passage traces floriculture's giant steps after liberalisation – area, production, states, government status, exports, future growth.
2. Commercialisation, government policy and exports are each only parts of this story.
3. So the theme is the rise of the floriculture industry in India.

Trick: Main idea = the umbrella topic that every paragraph supports.

Answer: (A) the rise of floriculture industry in India

Concept: Fact-based question – distinguish area (hectares) from production (tonnes).

1. Passage: 'The area under floriculture production in India is around 249 thousand hectares'.
2. 1659 thousand and 484 thousand are production figures in tonnes; 571 relates to export value.
3. So the area is about 249 thousand hectares.

Trick: Check the unit: area → hectares, production → tonnes.

Answer: (C) 249 thousand hectares

Concept: For a NOT-true question, match each statement with the passage and find the one that changes a fact.

1. Passage: export was ₹571.38 crores / $81.94 million in 2018-19 – so '$571.38 million' mixes the rupee figure with the dollar unit – not true.
2. Sunrise industry, $100\%$ export-oriented status and 'more than $50\%$ units in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu' are all stated in the passage.
3. Hence statement (B) is NOT true.

Trick: In data questions, check the unit (₹ crore vs $ million) as well as the number.

Answer: (B) India's total export of floriculture was $571.38 million in 2018-19.