SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 23 September 2024, Shift 1 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 14 of 97

Text as printed on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; answer per SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 6 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. The questions and options here are reproduced as printed on a candidate's own response sheet for this shift — the Commission's text, unchanged. Each answer is SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet; SSC allowed challenges to it and never publishes a final key. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Select the word-pair that best represents a similar relationship to the one expressed in the pair of words given below. (The words must be considered as meaningful English words and must NOT be related to each other based on the number of letters/number of consonants/vowels in the word) France : Gallic Rooster

(a)New Zealand : Hornbill
(b)Australia : Emu
(c)Germany : Swan
(d)India : Eagle

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The link is country : the creature that stands as its emblem, not country : a bird that happens to live there.

The Gallic Rooster (coq gaulois) is France's traditional national symbol and the badge worn by its national sports teams.

Australia's counterpart is the emu, which together with the red kangaroo supports the Commonwealth Coat of Arms → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
New Zealand : Hornbill — New Zealand's emblem bird is the kiwi, the flightless bird that gives New Zealanders their nickname. Hornbills are birds of tropical Asia and Africa and do not occur there.
(c)
Germany : Swan — Germany's heraldic bird is the eagle — the Bundesadler on its coat of arms. The swan carries no such role for Germany.
(d)
India : Eagle — India's national bird is the Indian peafowl, the peacock. No eagle holds that position here.

Concept

Analogy items of this shape test a named relation, not a loose association. Here the relation is national emblem: a creature a country has adopted, usually through its coat of arms or a formal declaration.

Test each option by asking whether the animal represents the country, not whether it lives there. Emus live in Australia and stand on its arms. Hornbills live across tropical Asia and Africa, so pairing one with New Zealand fails twice over.

SSC's bracketed rider — the words are meaningful English words and the link must not rest on letter or vowel counts — only closes off the counting shortcut. It does not narrow the relation for you.

Key facts

The Gallic Rooster is France's traditional national symbol and appears as the emblem of French national sports teams.
The emu and the red kangaroo are the two supporters of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia.
New Zealand's emblem bird is the kiwi, a flightless bird found only in New Zealand.
India's national bird is the Indian peafowl, commonly called the peacock.

Study next

National emblems and heraldic animals of major countriesCountry-to-capital and country-to-currency pairs, the neighbouring analogy familyNaming the relation in words before you test any option

Common traps

Choosing a bird that merely lives in the country instead of the one that represents it
Accepting Germany : Swan because swans are common across Europe
Pairing India with the eagle by carrying over the United States association

The same stem, with the same rider about meaningful English words, appears at 19 Sep 2024, 12:30, Reasoning Q.14 (country : capital) and 12 Sep 2024, 12:30, Reasoning Q.20 (trophy : sport).

The wrapper stays put while the relation moves from emblems to capitals to sporting trophies.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.