Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: A collective noun acting as one unit takes a singular verb and a singular pronoun throughout the sentence.

1. Verb used is 'was' and later the team is called 'it' → the team is treated as ONE unit.
2. So 'their strategy' clashes; use 'its strategy'.
3. Corrected part B: was confident about its strategy.

Trick: Check the verb and the later pronoun first – whichever number they show (singular here), every pronoun for that noun must follow it.

Answer: (B) was confident about their strategy

Concept: Choose the phrase whose meaning matches the idea of fair, rule-based hiring signalled by 'strictly'.

1. On merit = on the basis of ability and performance only – fits fair hiring.
2. Under the table = secretly/illegally; in the red = in debt/loss; on the rocks = in trouble, about to fail.

Trick: 'Strictly' + 'hiring decisions' points to a positive, fair basis – drop every option with a negative or money-loss sense.

Answer: (B) on merit

Concept: Peak = the highest point or summit.

1. Top = highest point → same meaning.
2. Nadir, abyss and low point all denote the lowest position – they are opposites.

Trick: Three options mean 'lowest' – the odd one meaning 'highest' is the synonym.

Answer: (C) Top

Concept: An unexpected (abrupt) action surprises people → 'catch someone off guard'.

1. Off guard = unprepared, taken by surprise – matches 'abrupt decision'.
2. Red-handed = while committing a wrong act; storm in a teacup = fuss over a trivial issue; 'haywire' (misspelt here) = out of control.

Trick: Pair the idiom with the verb: 'caught … off guard' and 'caught red-handed' both exist, but only surprise suits a resignation.

Answer: (A) off guard

Concept: Answer every passage question by locating the matching line; reject options the passage never mentions.

1. The opening sentence calls environmental awareness an essential part of today's education.
2. Exams, technology and career training do not appear anywhere in the text.

Trick: For 'main focus/main idea' questions, the first sentence of a short passage usually gives the answer.

Answer: (B) Environmental awareness

Concept: Answer every passage question by locating the matching line; reject options the passage never mentions.

1. The third sentence links lessons on recycling and conserving resources to eco-friendly daily habits.
2. Tests, purely theoretical teaching and fewer activities contradict the passage.

Trick: Keyword hunt: search 'eco-friendly' in the passage – the words around it give the option.

Answer: (C) By emphasising recycling and conservation

Concept: Answer every passage question by locating the matching line; reject options the passage never mentions.

1. Project-based learning (tree plantation, waste management) is the method that lets students use theory in practice.
2. Online tests, lectures and memorising are not mentioned.

Trick: 'Real-life situations' appears only once in the passage – read that one sentence.

Answer: (B) Project-based learning

Concept: Answer every passage question by locating the matching line; reject options the passage never mentions.

1. Teachers weave environmental topics into all subjects so students see how human actions affect ecology.
2. The other three options are negative ideas absent from the text.

Trick: When the passage praises a group, options with negative actions (avoid, limit) are almost always wrong.

Answer: (C) They integrate environmental topics across subjects

Concept: Answer every passage question by locating the matching line; reject options the passage never mentions.

1. The last sentence, starting with 'Although', names the hurdles: shortage of resources and of awareness.
2. Student interest, syllabus load and government support are never discussed.

Trick: Words like 'although/however/challenges' signal where problems are listed – go straight there.

Answer: (C) Limited resources and awareness

Concept: A homonym has the same spelling and sound but a different meaning.

1. In the given sentence, bank = a financial institution.
2. Options A, B and D use the same money-related sense.
3. In C, 'grassy bank' = the land along a river's edge – a different meaning.

Trick: Find the sentence where 'bank' cannot be replaced by 'financial institution' – that is the homonym.

Answer: (C) The fisherman stood quietly on the grassy bank.

Concept: Words of the '-ary' family keep the 'a' before -ry.

1. Correct spelling: Voluntary (vo-lun-ta-ry).
2. Documentary, Sanitary and Optional are already correct.

Trick: Say it in syllables: 'vol-un-TA-ry' – four parts, so the 'a' must be written.

Answer: (D) Voluntry

Concept: Vacuum is spelt with one 'c' and a double 'u', without a final 'e'.

1. Wrong: Vaccume → Right: Vacuum (empty space).
2. Legume, Broken and Sustained are correct.

Trick: Remember 'va-CU-UM': the double letter is 'u', not 'c'.

Answer: (C) Vaccume

Concept: 'Icing on the cake' = an extra pleasant thing added to something already good.

1. Already good: the perfect job. Extra bonus: the short commute.
2. B makes it negative, C calls it useless, D takes the words literally.

Trick: Idiom options that read the words literally (a sweet dish) are traps – idioms carry figurative meanings.

Answer: (A) Something that makes a good situation even better

Concept: cine (cinema) + phile (lover) = a film lover.

1. Cinephile = a person passionately interested in cinema.
2. Flask = bottle; Seer = prophet; Contrast = difference – none describes a film lover.

Trick: '-phile' always = lover: bibliophile (books), Anglophile (England), cinephile (films).

Answer: (B) Cinephile

Concept: Hazardous = dangerous, harmful; the antonym must mean helpful/good.

1. Beneficial = giving advantage or good results → opposite.
2. Lethal, deadly, noxious all mean harmful – synonyms.

Trick: Three options share one meaning (harmful) – the single positive word is the antonym.

Answer: (A) Beneficial

Concept: Perilous = full of danger (peril = danger).

1. Beneficial = advantageous, doing good → opposite sense.
2. Dangerous, hazardous and pernicious (slowly harmful) all repeat 'danger'.

Trick: Spot the root: peril = danger, so every 'danger' word goes out; only the positive one stays.

Answer: (B) Beneficial

Concept: ornitho (bird) + logist (one who studies) = bird scientist.

1. Ornithologist = expert who studies birds.
2. Botanist → plants; Lepidopterist → butterflies & moths; Zoologist → animals in general (too broad).

Trick: When a general term (zoologist) and a specific term both fit, SSC wants the specific one.

Answer: (C) Ornithologist

Concept: Imperative passive 'Let + object + be + V3' becomes active 'V1 + object …'.

1. Remove 'Let … be' and start with the base verb: expose.
2. Object stays the same: the political lies.
3. Active: Expose the political lies to the public before the elections.

Trick: Active of 'Let … be + V3' always begins with the plain verb – reject options starting with You/The/Let.

Answer: (B) Expose the political lies to the public before the elections.

Concept: With a past reporting verb, every reported verb shifts one tense back and pronouns follow the speaker.

1. have been training → had been training
2. am → was; are → were
3. I → he; my → his

Trick: Check only the three verbs: all must be past (had been / was / were). A and C keep present forms; D wrongly uses 'was training'.

Answer: (B) The athlete said that he had been training rigorously for the tournament for weeks, but he was still anxious because his opponents were highly experienced.

Concept: 'To' showing purpose is followed by the base verb (V1).

1. 'to maintaining' ✗ → 'to maintain' ✓.
2. Adjective comes before the noun: 'good health', not 'health good'.
3. Correct: … regular exercise routine to maintain good health.

Trick: 'to + V1' for purpose; 'to + V-ing' only after fixed phrases like look forward to, used to, object to.

Answer: (C) maintain good health