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

Concept: Once bitten, twice shy: after a bad experience, one becomes cautious about similar situations.

1. The 'bite' is a painful experience; being 'shy' later means being careful.
2. It is not literal (insect bite), and not about shyness with strangers or low confidence.
3. Example: After losing money once, he never lends again – once bitten, twice shy.

Yaad rakhein: Hindi equivalent: दूध का जला छाछ भी फूँक-फूँककर पीता है.

Answer: (B) a bitter experience making one cautious for future

Concept: Adjectives ending in -ite keep the 'e' before -ly.

1. virtually, immediately, eventually – correct.
2. 'infinitly' is wrong; correct is infinitely (infinite + ly).

Yaad rakhein: infinite + ly = infinitely (like definite → definitely).

Answer: (D) infinitly

Concept: Check each word letter by letter.

1. acquaint, restaurant, spectacles – correct.
2. 'superceed' is wrong; correct spelling is supersede (to replace).

Yaad rakhein: supersede is the only common English word ending in -sede; exceed, proceed, succeed end in -ceed.

Answer: (B) superceed

Concept: When + past participle is a correct shortened passive clause: 'When (he was) challenged'.

1. The man was challenged → passive → 'When challenged' is correct.
2. 'When in challenge' and 'While challenges' are ungrammatical.
3. 'When to be challenged' wrongly suggests a future/obligation sense.
4. So the sentence is correct as it is.

Yaad rakhein: When/If/Unless + V3 = shortened passive clause (When asked, If needed).

Answer: (A) No substitution required

Concept: In the pattern "one of the + plural noun + who/which/that + verb", the relative pronoun refers to the plural noun, not to "one", so the verb after it must be plural.

1. Here "that" refers to "matters" (plural), so the blank needs a plural verb.
2. (C) "are disturbing" is a plural verb in the present continuous: "matters that are disturbing me".
3. (B) "disturbs" is singular – it would agree with "one", which is not the subject of the relative clause.
4. (A) "is disturbed" is singular and passive (wrong sense); (D) "has disturb" is ungrammatical (has + base form).

Trick: Read the clause as "Of the matters that ___ me the most, this is one" – the verb clearly goes with "matters".

Answer: (C) are disturbing

Concept: Prestige means respect and admiration earned through achievement or status.

1. Renown, dignity and repute are close in meaning to prestige.
2. Disregard = lack of respect or attention – the opposite.

Yaad rakhein: Prestige ↔ disregard / disrepute / dishonour.

Answer: (A) disregard

Concept: The verb agrees with the head noun of the subject.

1. Subject: 'Our new secretary's performance' – head noun 'performance' is singular.
2. So 'have been' must be 'has been'.
3. Correct: Our new secretary's performance has been quite impressive.

Trick: Ignore the possessive (secretary's); find the main noun after it.

Answer: (C) have been

Concept: Cordial means warm and friendly.

1. Friendly – same meaning.
2. Rude, aloof and cold are opposites.

Yaad rakhein: Cordial ≈ friendly ≈ warm ≈ amiable (cordial relations = friendly relations).

Answer: (C) friendly

Concept: In an indirect (reported) question the word order is that of a statement: wh-word + subject + verb.

1. 'what was the reason' is question order (verb before subject).
2. Correct order: 'what the reason was'.
3. Correct: He wondered what the reason was for her refusal to accompany him.

Trick: After wonder/ask/know/tell + wh-word → no inversion.

Answer: (B) was the reason

Concept: Check each word letter by letter.

1. enigmatic, lustrous, dilemma – correct.
2. 'succint' is wrong; correct spelling is succinct (brief and clear).

Yaad rakhein: succinct has two 'c' sounds: suc-CINCT (k + s).

Answer: (A) succint

Concept: Conceited means having too high an opinion of oneself; vain.

1. Arrogant = proud and thinking oneself superior – same sense.
2. Tentative = uncertain; inferior = lower; diffident = shy, lacking confidence (opposite).

Yaad rakhein: Conceited ≈ arrogant ≈ vain ≈ proud.

Answer: (B) arrogant

Concept: To go beyond someone while moving is walk past someone.

1. 'Among' is used for three or more people/things, not for one person 'me'.
2. 'Walked past me without greeting me' = went by me without saying hello.
3. 'about me' and 'over me' give wrong meanings.

Yaad rakhein: walk/go/drive past someone = go by them.

Answer: (B) past me

Concept: Know (something) like the back of one's hand = to know it thoroughly in every detail.

1. We see the back of our hand all the time, so we know it perfectly.
2. It has nothing to do with copying or hitting; option D is the opposite.
3. Example: He knows Delhi like the back of his hand.

Yaad rakhein: Back of one's hand = complete, detailed familiarity.

Answer: (C) to have detailed knowledge of something

Concept: The study of the relationship of living things with their environment is ecology.

1. Pathology = study of diseases.
2. Cosmology = study of the origin and structure of the universe.
3. Radiology = medical use of X-rays and radiation.

Yaad rakhein: Greek oikos = house/home → ecology = study of our 'home', the environment.

Answer: (B) ecology

Concept: Walking on thin ice = doing something risky or being in a dangerous situation.

1. Thin ice may break at any moment, so walking on it is dangerous.
2. The idiom is figurative – not about ballet, careful walking or slipping.
3. Example: You are walking on thin ice by coming late to office every day.

Yaad rakhein: Thin ice = danger; skating/walking on thin ice = taking a risk.

Answer: (B) doing something risky

Concept: Factual question – locate the line about the 'primitive way' of breaking eggs.

1. The passage says: 'the primitive way of breaking eggs, before we eat them, was upon the larger end'.
2. Breaking at the smaller end was the later edict, not the original practice.
3. Breaking in the middle or eating whole are not mentioned.

Yaad rakhein: Primitive = original/old → Big-endian way.

Answer: (B) Breaking at the larger end

Concept: The opening lines describe the relationship between the two empires.

1. 'have been engaged in a most obstinate war for six-and-thirty moons' – they are at war.
2. Blefuscu fomented rebellions and sheltered exiles; it now prepares an invasion.
3. So they are hostile; there is no sign of friendship, compromise or a single ruler.

Yaad rakhein: Words like 'war', 'invasion', 'fleet' → hostile.

Answer: (A) hostile towards each other

Concept: Find what happened after the edict ordering eggs to be broken at the smaller end.

1. 'The people so highly resented this law, that … there have been six rebellions raised on that account.'
2. People did not readily agree, so B is wrong.
3. Exiles fled to Blefuscu only after rebellions were quelled, and not all people left – A is too broad; D is not stated as the direct result.

Yaad rakhein: Resented + rebellions → people rebelled.

Answer: (C) People rebelled against the new law

Concept: Inference questions ask for the central message behind the story.

1. A war lasting thirty-six moons, thousands of deaths and lost ships – all over which end of an egg to break.
2. This satirises how wars are fought over very trivial issues.
3. Loyalty, rule-following and a peaceful solution are not the point the story makes.

Yaad rakhein: Satire: huge consequences + silly cause → 'trivial issues' inference.

Answer: (B) Wars may be waged over very trivial issues.

Concept: For a NOT-true question, test each statement against the passage.

1. B: the doctrine says 'break their eggs at the convenient end' – true.
2. C: war 'for six-and-thirty moons' (thirty-six) – true.
3. D: Big-endian exiles 'fled for refuge to that empire' (Blefuscu) – true.
4. A: the narrator says he is 'ready, with the hazard of my life, to defend his person and state against all invaders' – so 'refuses' is not true.

Yaad rakhein: In NOT-true questions, the last paragraph often holds the contradiction.

Answer: (A) The narrator refuses to defend the emperor against the invaders.