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Solved English Question Paper of SSC Cabinet Secretariat RO(ECO), DFO(T) and DFO(GD) Tier-I Exam held on 23.06.2013.
Directions (1-5):In the following questions, choose the one which best expresses the meaning of the given word.
1. Conciliatory
- a) Foolish
- b) Soothing
- c) Advisory
- d) Cordial
2. Insidious
- a) Honest
- b) Deceitful
- c) Angry
- d) Insane
3. Mundane
- a) Normal
- b) Ordinary
- c) Gullible
- d) Mandatory
4. Scepticism
- a) Doubt
- b) Bigotry
- c) Belief
- d) Religion
5. Withstand
- a) Accept
- b) Submit
- c) Endure
- d) Relinquish
Directions (6-10):In the following questions, choose the word opposite in meaning to the given word.
6. Exonerate
- a) Exculpate
- b) Discharge
- c) Charge
- d) Admit
7. Cordial
- a) Unfriendly
- b) Sweet
- c) Cold
- d) Frigid
8. Exploit
- a) Expose
- b) Utilise
- c) Victimise
- d) Pamper
9. Acrimonious
- a) Devious
- b) Genial
- c) Callous
- d) Benevolent
10. Contemporary
- a) Ancient
- b) Contemptuous
- c) New
- d) Conventional
Directions (11-15):In the following questions, four alternatives are given for the Idiom/Phrase printed in bold in the sentence. Choose the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the Idiom/Phrase.
11. He left the place in high dudgeon.
- a) in a state of great resentment
- b) in a state of great depression
- c) in a state of great jubilation
- d) in a state of great anguish
12. I only passed the examination by the skin of my teeth.
- a) by a narrow margin
- b) by sheer hard work
- c) by strong will power
- d) by absolute luck
13. Instead of stopping the work, we decided to go the whole hog.
- a) to eat something while working
- b) to do something different
- c) to go somewhere far away
- d) to do the work completely or thoroughly
14. Before my oral examinations, I had butterflies in my stomach.
- a) became carefree
- b) became confident
- c) became irritated
- d) became nervous
15. Due to the delay caused by the monsoon rains, they had to work against time.
- a) go against the prescribed method
- b) work as fast as possible
- c) work in an old-fashioned way
- d) work lazily
Directions (16-20): In the following questions, a part of the sentence is printed in bold. Below are given alternatives to the bold part at (a), (b) and (c) which may improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative. In case no improvement is needed, your answer is (d).
16. Did you hear the last news that is doing the rounds in the political circle?
- a) later news
- b) latter news
- c) latest news
- d) No improvement
17. Not a flower nor even a thorn in the bush were seen in that arid spot.
- a) being seen
- b) was seen
- c) had being seen
- d) No improvement
18. The activities of the club in the neighbourhood remained limited only to games and sports.
- a) limited only to
- b) remained to
- c) remained limited
- d) No improvement
19. When you are dismissed from job, it does not help to throw up row.
- a) kick up row
- b) kick up a row
- c) kick a row
- d) No improvement
20. You can learn the principles of government from a reading of history.
- a) a study of history
- b) a view of history
- c) a glimpses of history
- d) No improvement
Directions (21-25): In the following questions, out of the four alternatives, choose the one which can be substituted for the given sentence.
21. Loss of memory
- a) Dementia
- b) Oblivion
- c) Nostalgia
- d) Amnesia
22. A raised place on which offerings to God are made
- a) Mound
- b) Chapel
- c) Altar
- d) Archive
23. Undue favour shown by a person in power to his friends and relatives
- a) Criticism
- b) Despotism
- c) Nepotism
- d) Witticism
24. An area controlled by a foreign ruler
- a) Province
- b) State
- c) Colony
- d) Dominion
25. A person who lives for pleasure
- a) Hedonist
- b) Materialist
- c) Atheist
- d) Philanthropist
Directions (26-30):In the following questions, group of four words are given. In each group one word is correctly spelt. Find the correctly spelt word.
26.
- a) motos
- b) mottoos
- c) mottoes
- d) motoess
27.
- a) lackadisal
- b) lacadisal
- c) lackadaisical
- d) lackadiasical
28.
- a) galary
- b) galery
- c) gallary
- d) gallery
29.
- a) presumptuous
- b) prisumptuous
- c) persumptuous
- d) presumtuous
30.
- a) appaaling
- b) appalling
- c) apaling
- d) apalling
Directions (31-35):In the following questions, you have two passages with 5 questions each. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
PASSAGE - I (Q. Nos. 31 to 35)
"Wisdom is knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it and virtue is doing it.", observed David Starr Jordan. Most of us know what we need to do in order to live happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives. The real problem is that we don't do what we know. I have head many motivational speakers say, "Knowledge is power." I disagree. Knowledge is not power. Knowledge is only potential power. It transforms itself into actual power the moment you decisively act on it.
The mark of a strong character lies not in doing what is fun to do or what is easy to do. The sign of deep moral authority appears in the individual who consistently does what he ought to be doing rather than what he feels like doing. A person of true character spends his days doing that which is the right thing to do. Rather than watching television for three hours after an exhausting day at work, he has the courage to get up off the couch and read to his kids. Instead of sleeping in on those cold wintry mornings, this individual exercises his natural reserves of self-discipline and gets out of bed for a run and since action is a habit, the more positive actions you take, the more you will feel like taking.
All too often, we spend our days waiting for the ideal path to appear in front of us. We forget that paths are made by walking, not waiting. Dreaming is great. But thinking big thoughts alone will not build a business, pay you bills or make you into the person you know in your heart you can be. In the words of Thomas Carlyle, "The end of man is an action and not a thought, though it were the noblest. The smallest of actions is always better than the boldest of intentions."
31. How does the author view knowledge?
- a) As actual power; that which helps one to know more.
- b) Not as power, but as potential power that can be changed into real power if we act on it.
- c) As something that is futile without actual power.
- d) As something that shows you what can be done and what cannot be done.
32. What, according to the author, is the real problem?
- a) That we do not do what we know.
- b) That we think we know more than the others and we know everything.
- c) That we dally between the knowable and the unknowable.
- d) That we give up on something that is difficult to be understood, deeming it unknowable.
33. Which kind of individual seems to be full of moral authority?
- a) One who follows his heart and does not listen to others.
- b) One who is obedient and moves according to established social norms.
- c) One who continues to do what is required of him instead of acting according to his desires.
- d) He who is strict and manages his tasks very well and loves the work he has to do.
34. Why should action ideally become a habit?
- a) Because the more we act, more we will feel like undertaking positive actions.
- b) Because the good and bad actions consistently alternate and follow to repeat themselves.
- c) Because the more we benefit from an action (irrespective of its nature), the more we want to repeat it.
- d) Because the smallest of actions can have the strongest and greatest of repercussions.
35. How has the futility of waiting been explained to us?
- a) That we wait for the right moment and when it comes, the first person grabs it and deprive others.
- b) That opportunities arrive, but waiting having made us lazy, we lose the available opportunity.
- c) We wait and when frustrated, take a hasty decision and regret thereafter.
- d) Most times we wait for the best way or opportunity to arrive but we forget that if we wait, we will never achieve our goal.
PASSAGE - II (Q. Nos. 36 to 40)
An eco-warrior is a person who engages in some sort of activity to save the ecology or environment. The word was coined in the 1990s by the British media. All over the world there have been groups of people who sound the alarm bells when environment is struck indiscriminately. Eco-warriors have a flag that is used internationally. It has a green background with red oval shape in the centre. In the middle of this are three yellow coloured sticks tied to form a tripod.
You too can be an eco-warrior by adopting simple activities like bird watching or tree hugging. Gather your friends and form an Eco Warriors club. Get the exact reference of the flag from the internet and make flags or badges for everyone in the club.
Make sure everyone wears them to all meetings. Have a meeting once every two weeks. Keep a notebook and pen for taking notes and setting goals. Elect a leader for the Club.
To help you get started with your club activities, here's a bit of history for inspirations. Our very own eco-warriors came to light with the Chipko movement of the 1970s. It was historic event that took place in present day Uttarakhand, to exercise the right over forests. The women farmers of village Reni, in Chamoli district hugged trees to protest against the deforestation of the Garhwali forests.
These days tree cutting is such a common sight - for road widening and building of flyovers and urban rail transport systems. If you are witnessing this in your area, meet your area's welfare association and insist that the authorities plant an equal number of trees in the locality wherever possible to make up for the trees that have been cut. Take it upon yourself to see that these trees are watered regularly and nurtured well till they grow.
36. Who is an 'eco-warrior'?
- a) Fighter
- b) Enemy of environment
- c) Saver of ecology
- d) Hater of pollution
37. The word was coined in the 21st century by the British media.
- a) True
- b) False
- c) Partially true
- d) Ambiguous
38. The simple activities adopted normally by an eco-warrior are
- a) internet browsing
- b) bird watching, tree hugging
- c) forming club
- d) forming a club and internet browsing
39. They hugged trees to
- a) show their love for trees and animals
- b) show their protest
- c) protest against deforestation
- d) protest against afforestation
40. Chipko movement and eco-warriors have one and the same motto. Which is nearest in meaning?
- a) The eco-warriors came to light because of Chipko movement.
- b) Both strive for saving the environment.
- c) They focus on saving trees in the cities only.
- d) The forest is saved by the eco-warriors only.
Directions (41-45): In the following questions, some part of the sentences have errors and some have none. Find out which part of a sentence has an error. The number of that part is your answer. If a sentence is free from error, your answer is (d), i.e. No error.
41. It upset him (a) / at seeing his son (b) / in such pain. (c) / No error (d)
42. My sister and myself (a) / are pleased to accept (b) / your invitation to dinner. (c) / No error (d)
43. We have made plans (a) / to go very recently (b) / to Delhi and Agra. (c) / No error (d)
44. Hi is (a) / too foolish (b) / that he will not act. (c) / No error (d)
45. Hi is too much worried (a) / about his friend's reaction (b) / to his statement. (c) / No error (d)
Directions (46-50): In the following questions, sentences are given with blanks to be filled in with an appropriate word(s). Four alternatives are suggested for each question. Choose the correct alternative out of the four.
46. The new general manager was able to break the labour-management ..................
- a) impasse
- b) impossibility
- c) impersonation
- d) improvisation
47. Not until a monkey is several years old ............. to exhibit signs of independence from its mother.
- a) it begins
- b) does it begins
- c) beginning
- d) and begins
48. When asked if he wanted to plead guilty, the accused replied .................
- a) in the appropriate way
- b) in an irrelevant way
- c) in the affirmative
- d) monotonously
49. I could not make ............ what he had said.
- a) up
- b) out
- c) away
- d) sense
50. Rahim went cycling ............. it was raining.
- a) in spite of
- b) although
- c) despite
- d) since