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

Concept: The relative clause must agree in time with the main clause and the context.

1. The bridge has been destroyed, so its role of connecting the cities is now in the past → simple past connected.
2. 'has connecting' is ungrammatical (has + V-ing).
3. 'connects' (present) and 'will be connecting' (future) cannot describe a bridge that no longer exists.

Trick: Destroyed bridge → it connected (past) the cities.

Answer: (A) connected

Concept: Abridge = to shorten a book, speech or text without losing its sense (an abridged edition).

1. Abridge ≈ shorten, condense, cut down.
2. Expand and Increase are antonyms.
3. Earmark = set aside for a particular purpose — unrelated.

Yaad rakhein: Abridged novel = short version of the novel.

Answer: (C) Shorten

Concept: Mirage = something that appears real but is not; an optical illusion.

1. The curved rod makes the bathtub only look larger — a false impression, i.e. an illusion.
2. 'offers the illusion of' is a natural collocation.
3. reflexes (automatic reactions), fission (splitting) and virtual (an adjective) do not fit.

Trick: Mirage in a desert = water that isn't there = illusion.

Answer: (C) illusion

Concept: When -ment is added to commit, the final t is NOT doubled.

1. Correct spelling: commitment (one 't' before -ment).
2. Compare: committed, committee (double t before a vowel suffix) but commitment (single t).
3. development, management and deprived are spelt correctly.

Yaad rakhein: commit + ment = commitment; double t only before -ed/-ee/-ing.

Answer: (A) committment

Concept: Optimal (optimum) = best or most favourable possible.

1. Seeking optimal performance = seeking the best performance.
2. minimum and worst are opposite in sense; faulty = defective.
3. So the synonym is best.

Yaad rakhein: Optimal → optimum → best.

Answer: (D) best

Concept: Nouns from adjectives ending in -acious take -acity: voracious → voracity.

1. Correct spelling: voracity (great eagerness/greed, especially for food).
2. Vial (small bottle), Vassal (feudal dependant) and Vise (clamp; US spelling of vice) are correct.
3. Hence 'Voracety' is incorrectly spelt.

Yaad rakhein: -acious → -acity: tenacious → tenacity, audacious → audacity, voracious → voracity.

Answer: (D) Voracety

Concept: Up in the air = uncertain, undecided, not yet known.

1. Example: Our travel plans are still up in the air (not decided).
2. Option B is the exact opposite (certain and decided).
3. A is a literal trap; D (invisible/unattainable) is a different idea. Hence C.

Trick: Something hanging in the air hasn't landed yet → not settled.

Answer: (C) Something that is unknown entirely

Concept: Assault = to attack someone physically.

1. The opposite of attacking a person is protecting him → guarded.
2. scolded, warned and criticised are milder forms of harsh treatment, not opposites.
3. Hence the antonym is guarded.

Yaad rakhein: Attack ↔ protect/guard.

Answer: (B) guarded

Concept: Bought is the past of buy (purchase); brought is the past of bring (carry here).

1. Paying a price for clothes means purchasing them → bought.
2. We buy something at a shop/boutique → 'bought at the boutique'.
3. 'bring at' and 'brought to' keep the wrong verb.

Trick: Paid money → bou-ght (buy); carried → brou-ght (bring).

Answer: (B) bought at

Concept: Obsequious = excessively obedient, eager to please or obey.

1. Among the options, the only one expressing obedience/compliance is law-abiding (obeying rules).
2. mischievous (naughty), defiant (openly disobedient) and headstrong (stubborn) are opposite in sense.
3. Hence the closest synonym is law-abiding.

Trick: Obsequious = over-obedient; pick the 'obedient' word.

Answer: (D) law-abiding

Concept: Hapless = unlucky, unfortunate (hap = luck, -less = without).

1. 'Rama has been very hapless' = very unlucky.
2. unnerving = frightening; undeserving = not worthy; degraded = lowered in quality/status.
3. So hapless replaces unlucky.

Trick: Hap (luck) + less = without luck.

Answer: (B) hapless

Concept: -cracy = rule/government; the prefix tells who rules. Geronto- = old people.

1. Gerontocracy = government/rule by old people.
2. Adhocracy = flexible, informal organisation; Plutocracy = rule by the rich; Autocracy = rule by one person.
3. Hence 'a group governed by old people' = gerontocracy.

Yaad rakhein: Geronto = old (gerontology = study of ageing).

Answer: (C) gerontocracy

Concept: By hook or by crook = by any means possible, fair or unfair.

1. Example: He wants to win the election by hook or by crook.
2. The idiom stresses the means (any method), not the amount of effort — so A and C are off.
3. D talks about difficulty, not methods. Hence B.

Trick: Hook or crook = any tool will do → any method.

Answer: (B) Using whatever methods are necessary

Concept: Once in a blue moon = very rarely.

1. A 'blue moon' (a second full moon in a calendar month) is a rare event.
2. Example: He visits his village once in a blue moon.
3. Occasionally means 'sometimes' — more frequent than the idiom implies; continuously and often are opposites.

Trick: Blue moon is rare → rarely.

Answer: (C) Rarely

Concept: A fatalist believes that all events are decided by fate and cannot be changed.

1. Fate + -ist (believer) = fatalist.
2. Fastidious = very particular/fussy; Fugitive = one who runs away from law; Fanatic = person with extreme zeal.
3. Hence Fatalist.

Trick: Fat(e) + al + ist → believer in fate.

Answer: (A) Fatalist

Concept: Vociferous = loud, noisy and forceful in expressing opinions.

1. Opposite of loud/noisy expression = silent.
2. Sullen = bad-tempered and gloomy (not necessarily quiet in meaning); Gallant = brave; Pugnacious = eager to fight.
3. Hence Silent.

Trick: Voci (voice) + ferous (carrying) = loud voice ↔ silent.

Answer: (A) Silent

Concept: Seize = to take hold of something forcibly or suddenly.

1. Example: The police seized the smuggled goods.
2. Liberate, Release and Relinquish all mean letting go/giving up — the opposite idea.
3. Hence Seize.

Trick: Seize = grab; the other three = let go.

Answer: (A) Seize

Concept: Watch for real words used wrongly: the context needs reality (what actually exists).

1. Metaphysics studies the nature of reality, i.e. existence.
2. Realty means real estate (land and buildings), which does not fit the sentence — so it is the wrongly spelt word here.
3. metaphysics, study, nature are correct.

Yaad rakhein: Reality = what is real; realty = property business.

Answer: (D) realty

Concept: Reprieve = a temporary relief, pause or cancellation (e.g. of a punishment or of something bad).

1. A reprieve stops or interrupts something for a while; its opposite is continuation.
2. Cease (stop) is close to reprieve in sense, not opposite; Turn out and Torrential are unrelated.
3. Hence Continuation.

Trick: Reprieve = break/halt ↔ continuation.

Answer: (D) Continuation

Concept: Hand and glove (also hand in glove) = on very close, intimate terms; working closely together.

1. A hand fits a glove perfectly — the two are inseparable.
2. Example: The two partners were hand and glove with each other.
3. The other options (under all conditions, decided, oppressive) have no link to closeness.

Trick: Hand fits glove → very close relationship.

Answer: (A) Very intimate terms