If you are preparing for the SSC Stenographer exam, you already know that the English section is the real game-changer. Unlike other SSC exams, there is no Math in the SSC Stenographer paper. Instead, English carries a massive 100 marks! Out of this, the “Cloze Test” alone can give you 10 to 20 direct marks. Many students get scared when they see a long paragraph with blank spaces. They feel that they need to know thousands of tough vocabulary words or high-level grammar rules to solve it. But here is the good news: the SSC board only tests your basic reading habits and common sense. If you understand the simple story of the paragraph, you can easily grab these free marks. To make your preparation super easy, we have explained this topic in simple words and provided an exam-level Cloze Test passage with detailed answers below.
What is a Cloze Test? (Explained in Simple Words)
You do not need to open thick grammar books to understand this. A Cloze Test is simply a “Fill in the Blanks” game built inside a story.
In the exam, you will be given a small paragraph (a story or a simple article). However, 5 or 10 words will be missing from this paragraph. Blank spaces with numbers will be placed there. For every blank space, the examiner will give you 4 options (A, B, C, D).
Your job is very simple: You just have to read the paragraph, understand what the story is talking about, and choose the correct word from the options that perfectly fits the blank space. It checks two basic things:
- Your Grammar: For example, if the story happened yesterday, you have to choose a past-tense word (like went, not go).
- Your Vocabulary: Picking the word that makes the best sense in that sentence.
Important Cloze Test Questions for SSC Stenographer
Now you know what a Cloze Test is. But just reading rules is not enough. To score full marks, you must practice real exam-level questions. Grab a pen, read the passage carefully, and try to solve these blanks below.
Direction: Read the following passage carefully. Some words have been deleted. Fill in the blanks with the help of the options given below.
Passage: Education is one of the most (1) ______ factors in our lives. It helps us to (2) ______ knowledge and good skills. A well-educated person can (3) ______ between right and wrong easily. In today’s modern world, without proper education, it is very (4) ______ to get a good-paying job. However, many children in small villages still do not have (5) ______ to good schools. The government is taking many (6) ______ to improve this sad situation. Free books, meals, and uniforms are being (7) ______ to poor students. Teachers are also being (8) ______ strictly so that they can teach the children well. If we want our country to (9) ______, we must focus on the education of every single child. After all, children are the (10) ______ of our nation.
Q1. Select the most appropriate option for blank No. 1.
(A) useless
(B) important
(C) dangerous
(D) heavy
Answer: (B) important
Explanation: The passage is praising education. So, education is an “important” factor, not a useless or dangerous one.
Q2. Select the most appropriate option for blank No. 2.
(A) lose
(B) forget
(C) gain
(D) drop
Answer: (C) gain
Explanation: Education helps us to get or achieve knowledge. The correct English word for getting knowledge is “gain.”
Q3. Select the most appropriate option for blank No. 3.
(A) decide
(B) fight
(C) sleep
(D) play
Answer: (A) decide
Explanation: An educated person can “decide” (make a choice) between what is right and what is wrong.
Q4. Select the most appropriate option for blank No. 4.
(A) easy
(B) simple
(C) hard
(D) cheap
Answer: (C) hard
Explanation: The sentence says “without proper education.” If you have no education, getting a job becomes very difficult or “hard.”
Q5. Select the most appropriate option for blank No. 5.
(A) door
(B) access
(C) road
(D) key
Answer: (B) access
Explanation: When people cannot reach or use a facility (like a school or hospital), we say they do not have “access” to it.
Q6. Select the most appropriate option for blank No. 6.
(A) steps
(B) jumps
(C) mistakes
(D) photos
Answer: (A) steps
Explanation: When the government tries to fix a problem, they take actions or measures. In English, we call this taking “steps.”
Q7. Select the most appropriate option for blank No. 7.
(A) sold
(B) hidden
(C) provided
(D) thrown
Answer: (C) provided
Explanation: The government is giving free books to poor students. The formal word for giving or supplying is “provided.”
Q8. Select the most appropriate option for blank No. 8.
(A) punished
(B) beaten
(C) trained
(D) ignored
Answer: (C) trained
Explanation: To teach well, teachers need to be taught how to do their job properly. This is called being “trained.”
Q9. Select the most appropriate option for blank No. 9.
(A) sleep
(B) fail
(C) develop
(D) stop
Answer: (C) develop
Explanation: The passage talks about the country moving forward. The right word for a country’s growth is “develop.”
Q10. Select the most appropriate option for blank No. 10.
(A) past
(B) future
(C) enemies
(D) problem
Answer: (B) future
Explanation: Children will grow up and run the country tomorrow. So, they are the “future” of the nation.
5 Simple Tips to Prepare Cloze Test for SSC Stenographer
You do not need a master’s degree in English to score full marks in a Cloze Test. Just keep a cool head and follow these 5 easy tips:
- Read the Full Passage First: Never start answering from the very first blank! Always read the whole paragraph from start to end without looking at the options. This will tell you the basic “story” and whether the tone is positive, negative, past, or present.
- Use the Elimination Trick: If you don’t know the exact answer, read the options and remove the wrong ones. For example, if the sentence is happy, you can cross out all the sad or negative words from the options.
- Check the Grammar: Look at the words just before and after the blank. If the sentence has “is/am/are”, the verb will usually have an “-ing” form. If it is about yesterday, pick the past tense word.
- Read Simple English Daily: The best way to master Cloze Tests is to read daily. You do not need to read tough newspapers. Just read simple 8th or 10th-level English storybooks or basic news articles for 15 minutes daily.
- Practice Previous Year Papers: SSC repeats its paragraph styles all the time. Solve the previous year’s Cloze Tests of SSC Stenographer, CHSL, and MTS. You will see that they are very basic and highly repetitive.
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FAQs: Cloze Test Questions for SSC Stenographer
No, not at all! The English section is of the 10th/12th-pass level. The Cloze Test paragraphs are usually based on simple daily life stories, environment, or social issues.
Cloze Test has a massive weightage in the SSC Stenographer exam. You can comfortably expect 2 to 3 passages, meaning a total of 10 to 20 direct questions just from this one topic!
Absolutely not! SSC asks very basic daily-use words. If you understand basic English sentences, you can solve 80% of the questions by pure common sense.
Always read the full paragraph first. Skimming the paragraph gives you the hidden theme. Once you know the theme, picking the right words becomes super easy.
Yes, there is a negative marking (usually 1/3rd or 0.25 marks depending on the exact notification) for every wrong answer in the SSC Stenographer exam. Do not guess blindly if you have zero idea.
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