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

Concept: WARM means moderately hot; its opposite is ‘cool’ (moderately cold).

1. ‘cool’ is the natural opposite: warm water vs cool water.
2. ‘hot’ is a stronger degree of warm (near-synonym); ‘springy’ and ‘spongy’ describe texture.

Yaad rakhein: Pairs by degree: hot–cold, warm–cool.

Answer: (A) cool

Concept: Check each word against its standard spelling.

1. difficult, easier, supporting – all correct.
2. ‘optsion’ is wrong; correct spelling: option (the ‘-tion’ ending has no ‘s’).

Trick: The ‘shun’ sound in option, action, nation is written ‘-tion’.

Answer: (A) optsion (correct: option)

Concept: Check each word against its standard spelling.

1. central, electric, irrigation – all correct.
2. ‘presure’ is wrong; correct spelling: pressure (double ‘s’).

Trick: press + ure = pressure – the root ‘press’ keeps its double s.

Answer: (D) presure (correct: pressure)

Concept: Fixed prepositional phrases: ‘at a … speed’ and ‘by way of’ (= by means of / through).

1. Speed/rate takes ‘at’: spread at a dizzying speed.
2. ‘by way of’ means through: by way of file downloads.
3. Other pairs (by; by / at; from / in; from) break one of these phrases.

Yaad rakhein: at a speed / at a rate; by way of = via.

Answer: (C) at; by

Concept: FLAW means a fault or defect; its opposite is ‘perfection’ (complete freedom from faults).

1. ‘defect’ and ‘weakness’ are synonyms of flaw.
2. ‘feature’ is just a characteristic, not the opposite.

Yaad rakhein: Flaw = defect ↔ perfection; flawless = perfect.

Answer: (A) perfection

Concept: FERTILE means able to produce plenty of crops or offspring; its opposite is ‘barren’ (unable to produce).

1. ‘fruitful’ and ‘productive’ are synonyms of fertile.
2. ‘strong’ is unrelated to productivity.

Yaad rakhein: Fertile land ↔ barren land.

Answer: (B) barren

Concept: IMITATION means a copy made to look like the real thing; its synonym is ‘fake’.

1. ‘fake’ = not genuine, a copy – same sense.
2. ‘genuine’, ‘real’ and ‘original’ are all antonyms.

Trick: Three options mean the same (genuine/real/original) – the odd one is the answer.

Answer: (B) fake

Concept: The phrasal verb ‘look out’ is a warning meaning ‘be careful / watch out’.

1. Example: Look out! A car is coming.
2. ‘find out’, ‘search’ and ‘locate’ relate to ‘look for’, not ‘look out’.

Yaad rakhein: Look out = watch out = be careful.

Answer: (C) be careful

Concept: FEEBLE means very weak; its opposite is ‘strong’.

1. ‘weak’ is a synonym.
2. ‘fault’ and ‘foible’ (a minor weakness of character) are nouns, not opposites.

Yaad rakhein: Feeble = weak, frail ↔ strong, sturdy.

Answer: (C) strong

Concept: Check each word against its standard spelling.

1. brakes, solution, beaker – all correct.
2. ‘refrence’ is wrong; correct spelling: reference (refer + ence).

Trick: refer + ence = ref-er-ence (keep the ‘e’ of ‘refer’).

Answer: (A) refrence (correct: reference)

Concept: ‘Smell’ as an involuntary perception is a stative verb: with ‘now’ we use the Simple Present, not the continuous.

1. ‘now’ shows the present moment → I smell something burning now.
2. ‘smelt’ is past; ‘have smelt / have been smelling’ do not suit a perception at this moment.

Trick: Perception verbs (see, hear, smell) + now → Simple Present.

Answer: (C) smell

Concept: As an adjective, JUST means fair, impartial and morally right; its synonym is ‘fair’.

1. Example: a just decision = a fair decision.
2. ‘partial’ and ‘favouring’ are opposites; ‘courtly’ means polite/refined.

Yaad rakhein: Just = fair, impartial; injustice = unfairness.

Answer: (B) fair

Concept: An action taking place at this very moment takes the Present Continuous.

1. ‘Sh!’ shows the action is happening right now.
2. Correct: Sh! Someone is listening to our conversation.
3. So ‘listens to’ (Simple Present = habit) is the error.

Trick: Sh! / Look! / Listen! → Present Continuous.

Answer: (A) listens to

Concept: ALIVE means living, not dead; its opposite is ‘dead’.

1. ‘living’ is a synonym; ‘life’ is a noun; ‘active’ means energetic, not the opposite of alive.

Yaad rakhein: Alive ↔ dead.

Answer: (C) dead

Concept: The phrasal verb ‘call on (someone)’ means to pay a short visit to someone.

1. Example: I will call on my uncle this evening.
2. ‘telephone’ is ‘call up’; ‘announce’ is ‘call out’; ‘step out’ means go outside.

Yaad rakhein: call on = visit; call up = phone; call off = cancel.

Answer: (B) visit

Concept: The author’s purpose is the main point the writer argues, usually stated in the conclusion.

1. The passage criticises zoos for keeping animals in unnatural conditions.
2. The last line concludes: the aim should be to conserve animals in the wild, in protected areas called sanctuaries.
3. (A) is a minor detail; (C) contradicts the author; (D) is the zoo supporters’ view, which the author rejects.

Trick: Purpose = the conclusion the author recommends.

Answer: (B) We can show our concern for animals better by supporting protected spaces for them in the natural environment.

Concept: Answer only from what the passage states about cruelty.

1. Para 2: Most animals are put in an artificial environment (e.g., cages). This isolation from their natural habitat can amount to cruelty.
2. It adds that cruelty may be shown in ways other than physical abuse or starvation – so (B) and (C) are not the passage’s point.
3. Forced performance (D) is never mentioned.

Trick: Look for the sentence containing the key word ‘cruelty’.

Answer: (A) by being kept in artificial environments

Concept: A predator is an animal that hunts and kills other animals for food.

1. Para 3: Big predators like lions and tigers are created to chase and hunt.
2. Hunting for food = predator; the animal hunted is the ‘prey’ (option D describes prey).

Yaad rakhein: Predator = hunter; prey = the hunted.

Answer: (A) animals which kill others for food

Concept: To ‘burrow’ means to dig a hole or tunnel in the ground to live in or hide.

1. The passage cites rabbits, which dig burrows, and objects to concrete floors that stop them digging.
2. So burrowing animals dig the earth for shelter (and food).
3. (A) describes chimpanzees/polar bears; (B) describes predators.

Yaad rakhein: Burrow = hole/tunnel dug by an animal (rabbit, mole).

Answer: (D) dig the earth for food and shelter

Concept: Find the reason for visiting zoos given at the start of the passage.

1. Para 1: Many of us have enjoyed visiting a zoo and consider it a day out having fun.
2. It adds that seeing animals can be thrilling and exciting.
3. The other options are not stated as visitors’ reasons.

Trick: Match the option with the passage’s own words: ‘day out’, ‘fun’, ‘exciting’.

Answer: (C) to spend a day out for fun and excitement