SSC CGL 2025 Tier-II · Paper-I, 19 January 2026 · English Language and Comprehension · Question 41 of 150

We transcribed this text from the pictures of a candidate's response sheet for this paper; the answer is the key SSC marked with a green tick on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 11 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. This paper reaches us as a candidate's response sheet saved as pictures, so we transcribed the text from those pictures, and a second reader checked every question against them; where the layout carries meaning, we show the picture too. Each answer is the key SSC marked with a green tick on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. UnlockIAS wrote the solutions.

In the following question, some of the words in the passage have been left out. Read the passage carefully and choose the correct word for each blank, out of the four alternatives and fill in the blanks.
After falling consistently __________ (1) the U.S. dollar for a major part of the year, the rupee has __________ (2) somewhat over the last few weeks. It has risen by almost 5% from its lowest levels __________ (3) in October. Even with this recent improvement, the rupee is still down about 11% since the start of the year. The rupee’s performance has been closely _________ (4) to global crude oil prices. This makes sense, as imported oil accounts for about 80% of India’s total demand. The value of the rupee dropped when oil prices climbed earlier this year, a trend that lasted until early October. Since then, as global crude prices have fallen, the rupee has __________ (5) against the dollar.

What should come in blank (1) ?

(a)for
(b)against
(c)of
(d)with

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The trigger is a comparison of currencies: 'After falling consistently ___ (1) the U.S. dollar for a major part of the year'. One currency rises or falls against another.

The passage uses the same pairing in its last sentence: 'the rupee has ___ (5) against the dollar.'

Falling against the dollar means losing value relative to it → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
for — Fall for means to be tricked by, or to fall in love with. 'Falling for the U.S. dollar' says nothing about exchange rates.
(c)
of — Of does not compare currencies. 'Falling of the U.S. dollar' leaves the rupee's fall with nothing to be measured against.
(d)
with — Falling with the dollar would mean falling alongside it, both currencies dropping together. The passage measures the rupee against the dollar.

Concept

Exchange rates are relative, so English reports them with against: a currency rises, falls, strengthens or weakens against another.

Scan the whole passage before choosing. Here the last sentence supplies the pairing outright: 'the rupee has ___ (5) against the dollar.'

A preposition blank is decided by collocation — the word a verb or noun habitually takes — not by what sounds possible in isolation.

Key facts

A currency rises, falls, strengthens or weakens against another currency.
Fall for means be deceived by, or fall in love with.
Falling with X means falling together with X.

Study next

Preposition collocations in economic writing: against, by, toPhrasal verbs with fall: fall for, fall behind, fall throughReading the whole cloze passage before filling the first blank

Common traps

Choosing 'for' because 'falling for' is a familiar phrase — it means being tricked or charmed.
Choosing 'with' by picturing the two currencies moving together, when the passage measures one against the other.

Blank (5) of this passage, 19 Jan 2026, 11:00 AM, English Q.45, uses the same 'against the dollar'. A Tier-I cloze blank also turns on a collocation at 23 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.23, where 'acquaintance ___ literature and art' takes 'with'.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Cloze test — all 185 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.

In the following question, some of the words in the passage have been left out. Read the passage carefully and choose the correct word for each blank, out of the four alternatives and fill in the blanks.
After falling consistently __________ (1) the U.S. dollar for a major part of the year, the rupee has __________ (2) somewhat over the last few weeks. It has risen by almost 5% from its lowest levels __________ (3) in October. Even with this recent improvement, the rupee is still down about 11% since the start of the year. The rupee’s performance has been closely _________ (4) to global crude oil prices. This makes sense, as imported oil accounts for about 80% of India’s total demand. The value of the rupee dropped when oil prices climbed earlier this year, a trend that lasted until early October. Since then, as global crude prices have fallen, the rupee has __________ (5) against the dollar.