SSC CGL 2025 Tier-II · Paper-I, 19 January 2026 · English Language and Comprehension · Question 42 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 (2) ?

(a)admire
(b)energy
(c)ground
(d)recovered

Answer

Why

Correct — D. After 'the rupee has', the blank must be a past participle: has + participle makes the present perfect.

Meaning comes from the contrast. The sentence opens 'After falling consistently', and the next one confirms a rise: 'It has risen by almost 5% from its lowest levels'.

A fall followed by a partial rise is a recovery: has recovered somewhat → option (d).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
admire — Admire is a base form, so 'has admire' is not English, and a currency cannot admire anything. The present perfect needs a participle such as 'recovered'.
(b)
energy — Energy is a noun. 'The rupee has energy somewhat' turns 'has' into 'possesses', while the passage describes a change in value.
(c)
ground — Ground here would be the past participle of grind, to crush. The currency idiom is 'gained ground', which needs 'gained' — 'has ground' alone means has crushed.

Concept

Settle a cloze blank with two checks: grammar, the form the slot needs, and sense, what the sentences around it say.

Grammar: after 'has', the verb must be a past participle — has recovered, has risen. That rules out admire, a base form, and energy, a noun. Ground passes as the participle of grind but fails on sense.

Sense: the rupee fell for most of the year, then rose almost 5%. A partial rise after a fall is a recovery, hence 'somewhat'.

Key facts

Present perfect = has/have + past participle: has recovered, has risen.
Ground is the past tense and past participle of grind.
The passage confirms the direction: 'It has risen by almost 5% from its lowest levels'.

Study next

Present perfect for changes up to now: has risen, has recoveredIrregular participles that look like nouns: ground, found, boundCurrency movement vocabulary: recover, rebound, strengthen, weaken

Common traps

Choosing 'ground' from a half-remembered 'gain ground'.
Filling the blank without reading the next sentence, which confirms the rupee rose.

The same passage asks for a participle after 'the rupee has' again at 19 Jan 2026, 11:00 AM, English Q.45, where the answer is 'strengthened'.

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.