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

Concept: A chip off the old block = a person who is very similar to his or her parent in character or appearance.

1. A chip cut from a block of wood is of the same material as the block.
2. So Amit, like his brother, resembles his parents.
3. Other options (planning, future endeavours, talking tough) have no link with the idiom.

Trick: Chip = child, old block = parent.

Answer: (D) resembling his parents in character and appearance

Concept: The earliest, original inhabitants of a land are called Aborigines.

1. Latin ab origine = 'from the beginning'.
2. Citizens = legal members of a country (not necessarily original).
3. Primitive = belonging to an early stage; Aliens = foreigners.

Trick: Ab-origin-es = people from the origin.

Answer: (C) Aborigines

Concept: Linking (sense) verbs like taste, smell, look, feel, sound take an adjective, not an adverb.

1. 'It tasted sweetly' is wrong: 'tasted' describes the honey (subject), not an action.
2. Correct: 'it tasted sweet'.
3. Segment (D) has the error; this appears as option (A).

Trick: Sense verb + adjective: looks happy, smells good, tastes sweet.

Answer: (A) D

Concept: Keep up appearances = to pretend that everything is fine (especially financially) by keeping an outward show.

1. Charlie is bankrupt but still shows the world he is well off – exactly this idiom.
2. Bring down the house = get huge applause; Bell the cat = take a risky task.
3. Cut a sorry figure = look pitiable (the opposite).

Trick: Outward show = appearances.

Answer: (B) keep up appearances

Concept: Spot the word whose letters differ from the standard form.

1. Correct spelling: Infirmary (a hospital / sick room) – from 'infirm'.
2. 'Infurmary' has 'u' in place of 'i'.
3. Dictionary, Reference and Ordinary are correct.

Trick: Infirm (weak) → Infirmary – keep the 'i'.

Answer: (C) Infurmary

Concept: Freedom = the state of being free, not confined.

1. Its opposite is Captivity = being kept confined (in a cage or zoo).
2. Liberty is a synonym; Carefree is related to freedom.
3. Surrendered is a verb form and means 'gave up', not the state of confinement.

Yaad rakhein: Free animals vs captive animals.

Answer: (D) Captivity

Concept: Concordant = in agreement or harmony with something (from 'concord').

1. Harmonious = in agreement, free from conflict – same meaning.
2. Unanimous = all agreeing on one decision (about people's votes), narrower sense.
3. Certain = sure; Abnormal = unusual.

Yaad rakhein: Concord = harmony; Discord = conflict.

Answer: (D) Harmonious

Concept: A news item announcing someone's recent death, often with a short life story, is an Obituary.

1. Mortuary = a room where dead bodies are kept.
2. Centenary = 100th anniversary.
3. Culinary = related to cooking.

Trick: Obituary = death notice in newspaper; Mortuary = room for bodies.

Answer: (B) Obituary

Concept: Get itchy feet = to become restless and want to travel or do something new.

1. Feet 'itch' to move – a desire for change or travel.
2. 'Judge on appearance' = judge a book by its cover; 'learn by memorising' = learn by rote.
3. 'Join a popular trend' = jump on the bandwagon.

Trick: Itchy feet = feet that want to walk away.

Answer: (C) To start to want to travel or do something different

Concept: A verb is modified by an adverb, not an adjective.

1. 'ate … greedy' – 'greedy' (adjective) is wrongly used to describe the action 'ate'.
2. Correct: 'ate the food greedily'.
3. Other segments are correct.

Trick: How did they eat? → adverb (-ly): greedily.

Answer: (D) food greedy.

Concept: Keep one's chin up = to remain cheerful and brave in difficult times.

1. 'Despite all his health problems' shows a difficult situation.
2. He stays positive – 'to stay cheerful during difficult times'.
3. Staying safe or saving others is not the meaning; the chin option is literal.

Trick: Chin up = head high = stay positive.

Answer: (C) To stay cheerful during difficult times

Concept: Words inscribed on a tomb or gravestone in memory of the dead form an Epitaph.

1. Prologue = introduction of a play/book.
2. Epilogue = concluding part of a play/book.
3. Post-script (P.S.) = note added after a letter.

Trick: Epi-taph: 'taph' = tomb (Greek taphos).

Answer: (A) Epitaph

Concept: Check every key word: scientist, meticulously, analysed, revolutionise, field.

1. (A) 'scientiest', 'revolutionice' – wrong.
2. (B) 'meticulusly', 'revaulutionise' – wrong; (C) 'anelysed', 'feild' – wrong.
3. (D) has all words spelt correctly.

Trick: 'field' follows i before e; 'revolution' + -ise.

Answer: (D) The scientist meticulously analysed the complex data, uncovering ground-breaking insights that would revolutionise the field.

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

1. Subject = 'The people' (plural); 'of Jammu and Kashmir' only describes it.
2. Plural subject needs plural verb: 'have emphasised', not 'has emphasised'.
3. Error is in 'has emphasised and'.

Trick: 'People' is always plural → have/are/were.

Answer: (C) has emphasised and

Concept: After a preposition (to, for, with…) the relative pronoun takes the objective form whom.

1. 'to who' is wrong → 'to whom'.
2. Tense must stay past ('was a criminal'), so 'sold', not 'sell'.
3. 'to whom sold' drops the subject 'I'.

Trick: Preposition + whom (never 'to who').

Answer: (B) to whom I sold

Concept: A fertile spot in a desert where water is found is an Oasis.

1. Obsolete = no longer in use.
2. Obscure = not clear or not well known.
3. Ode = a lyrical poem addressed to someone.

Trick: Desert + water + greenery = Oasis.

Answer: (D) Oasis

Concept: On thin ice = in a risky or dangerous situation where a mistake may cause trouble.

1. Walking on thin ice can make you fall through at any moment.
2. So the meaning is 'in a risky position'.
3. Other options have no link to danger.

Trick: Thin ice = may crack any time = risk.

Answer: (A) In a risky position

Concept: Find the misspelt word in the sentence and choose its correct form.

1. The phrasal verb 'lay off' (dismiss workers) is written 'lay', not 'lai'.
2. 'economy', 'difficult' and 'dip' are already correct in the sentence.
3. Options 'Economie', 'Dificult', 'Dipe' are themselves misspellings.

Trick: Lay off = remove from job.

Answer: (C) Lay

Concept: Wisp = a small, thin amount of something (a wisp of smoke/hair).

1. Opposite of 'a small amount' = 'Lot' (a large amount).
2. Trickle = a small flow – similar to wisp, not opposite.
3. Itchy and Wind are unrelated.

Yaad rakhein: Wisp = little; Lot = much.

Answer: (B) Lot

Concept: Keep your pants on (informal) = stay calm, be patient, don't get excited or angry.

1. It is said to someone who is getting impatient or angry.
2. So the meaning is 'to keep calm and quiet'.
3. Dress, tailoring and making things proper are literal traps.

Trick: Keep your pants on = Keep your shirt on = calm down.

Answer: (B) To keep calm and quiet