SSC CGL 2025 Tier-II · Paper-I, 19 January 2026 · English Language and Comprehension · Question 43 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 (3) ?

(a)behind
(b)render
(c)reached
(d)admire

Answer

Why

Correct — C. The blank sits between a noun and a time: 'from its lowest levels ___ (3) in October'.

It needs a word saying what happened to those levels then. A past participle does that, shortening a relative clause: levels reached in October = levels that were reached in October.

Prices and currencies reach a low, so the collocation fits too → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
behind — Behind is a word of position. 'Lowest levels behind in October' links the levels to October with no action, and makes no sense.
(b)
render — Render, meaning to cause to become or to give, is a base form that needs an object. 'Levels render in October' fits neither grammar nor sense.
(d)
admire — Admire is a base form and needs someone to do the admiring. Levels cannot admire, and the slot calls for a participle.

Concept

A past participle can follow a noun as a reduced relative clause: 'the price paid last year' = 'the price that was paid last year'.

Here the full version is 'its lowest levels that were reached in October'. Dropping 'that were' leaves the participle, and levels, lows and highs are things a price reaches.

The sentence then says the rupee has risen almost 5% from the lows it hit in October.

Key facts

Reduced relative clause: noun + past participle, as in 'levels reached in October'.
Reach, hit and touch collocate with a low, a high or a level.
Render means to cause to become, as in 'rendered useless', or to give, as in 'render help'.

Study next

Reduced relative clauses with past and present participlesCollocations for price levels: reach, hit, touch, fall toEliminating cloze options by part of speech

Common traps

Reading 'lowest levels ___ in October' as needing a preposition and choosing 'behind'.
Choosing 'render' because it looks like a formal verb, without checking that it needs an object.

Blank (4) of this passage, 19 Jan 2026, 11:00 AM, English Q.44, also takes a past participle, 'tied', after 'has been closely'.

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.