READING COMPREHENSION – 1

Passage 1:

The enjoyment of physical possession of things would seem to be one of the prerogatives of wealth which has been little impaired. Presumably nothing has happened to keep the man who can afford them from enjoying his Rembrandt and his home grown orchids. But enjoyment of things has always been associated with the third prerogative of wealth which is the distinction it confers. In a world where nearly everyone was poor, the distinction was very great. It was the natural consequence of rarity. In England it is widely agreed, the ducal families are not uniformly superior. There is a roughly normal incidence of intelligence and stupidity, good taste and bad taste, morality, immorality. But very few people are dukes and duchesses, although the latter have become rather more frequent with modern easing of divorce laws. As a result, even though they may be intrinsically unexceptional they are regarded with some awe. So it has long have been with the rich. Were dukes numerous their position would deteriorate. As the rich have become more numerous, they have inevitably becomes a debased currency.

Questions

1. The distinction conferred by wealth

was unfair to the poor

was unlikely to spread throughout the world

was very great when there were many rich people

was very great when there were few rich people

 

2. The enjoyment of the physical possession of things

is one of the privileges of wealth which has not been changed

is one of the privileges of wealth which should be curtailed

has little to do with the prerogatives of wealth

is a prerogative of wealth which cannot be disputed

 

3. Ducal families in England
4. are generally agreed to be fairly common
5. are generally agreed to be fairly superior
6. are superior because they are rich
7. are generally agreed not to be always better than others

 

4. There are more duchesses now because
5. it is easier for dukes to divorce and remarry
6. dukes are more immoral than they used to be
7. their position has deteriorated
8. they are debased

 

5. Among the ducal families
6. there is great deal of immorality
7. there is a fairly even spread of virtues and vices
8. there is a great deal of bad taste
9. there is either great intelligence or great stupidity

 

Passage 2 : Nehru’s was a many sided personality. He enjoyed reading and writing books as much as he enjoyed fighting political and social evils or residing tyranny. In him, the scientist and the humanist were held in perfect balance. While he kept looking at special problems from a scientific standpoint, he never forgot that we should nourish the total man. As a scientist, he refused to believe in a benevolent power interested in men’s affairs but, as a self-proclaimed nonbeliever, he loved affirming his faith in life and the beauty of nature. Children he adored. Unlike Wordsworth, he did not see them trailing clouds of glory from the recent sojourn in heaven. He saw them as a blossoms of promise and renewal, the only hope for mankind.

Questions

6. Nehru thought that children
7. were trailing clouds of glory
8. held promise for a better future
9. were like flowers to be loved and admired
10. held no hope for mankind

 

7. Nehru enjoyed
8. reading and writing books
9. fighting political and social evils
10. resisting tyranny
11. doing all the above and much more

 

8. Which of the statements reflects Nehru point of view?
9. Humanism is more important than science
10. Science is supreme and humanism is subordinate to it
11. Science and Humanism are equally important
12. There is no ground between science and humanism

 

9. In this passage, ‘a benevolent power interested in men’s affairs’ means
10. a supernatural power of God
11. beauty of nature
12. the spirit of science
13. the total man

 

10. A ‘many-sided personality’ means
11. a complex personality
12. a secretive person
13. a person having varied interests
14. a capable person

 

Passage 3 : Until the end of his first year at school, Cyril retained many of the pleasures and pursuits he had brought with him from home, and he kept an odd interest in butterflies and fossils. His grandmother had presented him with a fine bird’s eggs cabinet, but he could never bring himself to risk climbing trees. Once or twice he dissected dead birds from sheer determination to overcome his horror of the operation. Probably it was his envy of those physically unlike himself that brought on a phase during which he drew massive athletes with thick necks and square shoulders. Again he was pitying himself for what he could never be.

Questions

11. The reason Why Cyril made drawings of athletes was that
12. though he admired them, he lacked a fine physique himself
13. he loved violent exercises
14. athletics was a passion with him
15. he had to complete an assignment

 

12. Cyril dissected dead birds to
13. see if he would like to become a doctor
14. please his grandmother
15. satisfy his curiosity
16. overcome the fear of act

 

13. Until the end of first year, Cyril retained his interest in
14. bird’s eggs
15. butterflies and fossils
16. dissecting bird’s
17. drawing pictures of athletes

 

14. Cyril did not want to climb trees because he
15. loved to play on the ground
16. was scared of falling down
17. disliked trees
18. thought it was childish

 

15. Cyril’s early schooling was in some ways like home life because
16. he had all his old friends with him
17. the food and the climate were same as at home
18. he kept an doing what gave joy and recreation at home
19. his family visited him often

 

Passage 4: The assault on the purity of the environment is the price that we pay for many of the benefits of modern technology. For the advantage of automotive transportation we pay a price in smog induced diseases; for the powerful effects of new insecticides, we pay a price in dwindling wildlife and disturbances in the relation of living things and their surroundings; for nuclear power, we risk the biological hazards of radiation. By increasing agricultural production with fertilizers, we worsen water pollution.

The highly developed nations of the world are not only the immediate beneficiaries of the good that technology can do, that are also the first victims of environmental diseases that technology breeds. In the past, the environmental effects which accompanied technological progress were restricted to a small and relatively short time. The new hazards are neither local nor brief. Modern air pollutions covers vast areas of continents: Radioactive fallout from the nuclear explosion is worldwide. Radioactive pollutants now on the earth surface will be found there for generations, and in case of Carbon14,  for  thousands of  years.

Questions

16. The widespread use of insecticides has
17. reduced the number of wild animals
18. caused imbalance in the relationship between living beings and their environment
19. eliminated diseases by killing mosquitoes and flies
20. caused biological hazards

 

17. The passage emphasis that modern technology
18. is an unmixed blessing
19. has caused serious hazards to life
20. has produced powerful chemicals
21. has benefited highly developed nations

 

18. According to the passage the increasing use of fertilisers is responsible for
19. abundance of food
20. disturbance in the ecological system
21. water pollution
22. increase in diseases

 

19. The harmful effects of modern technology are
20. widespread but short lived
21. widespread and long lasting
22. limited and long-lasting
23. severe but short-lived

 

20. Radioactive pollutants
21. are limited in their effect
22. will infect the atmosphere for thousands of years
23. will be on the surface of earth for a very long time
24. will dissipate in short span of time

 

Passage 5: There was a marked difference of quality between the personages who haunted near bridge of brick and the personages who haunted the far one of stone. Those of lowest character preferred the former, adjoining the town; they did not mind the glare of the public eye. They had been of no account during their successes; and though they might feel dispirited, they had no sense of shame in their ruin. Instead of sighing at their adversaries they spat, and instead of saying the iron had entered into their souls they said they were down in their luck. The miserables who would pause on the remoter bridge were of  a politer stamp persons who did not know how to get rid of the weary time. The eyes of this species were mostly directed over the parapet upon the running water below. While one on the townward bridge did not mind who saw him so, and kept his back to parapet to survey the passer-by, one on this never faced the road, never turned his head at coming footsteps, but, sensitive to his own condition, watched the current whenever a stranger approached, as if some strange fish interested him, though every finned thing had been poached out of the rivers years before.

Questions

21. In this passage the author is trying to
22. explain the difference between the construction of the two bridges
23. describe the way different sections of people like to dress
24. explain the variety of ways in which strangers can be treated
25. describe how people of different classes behaved when unhappy

 

22. People belonging to lower strata in their moments of distress
23. remembered the days of glory
24. dressed shabbily to earn sympathy
25. visited the brick made bridge
26. felt ashamed of their failures

 

23. The attitude of lowly and genteel towards strangers was
24. virtually the same
25. entirely different
26. completely indifferent
27. virulently hostile

 

24. The bridge of stone was frequented by
25. all the sections of society
26. those fond of fishing
27. the sophisticated but luckless
28. none of the above

 

25. The two bridges were known
26. for their similar design
27. for being equidistant from town
28. for being haunted places
29. for attracting dejected people to them

 

Passage 6: Nationalism, of course, is a curious phenomenon which at a certain stage in a country’s history gives life, growth and unity but, at the same time, it has a tendency to limit one,  because one thinks of one’s country as something different from the rest of world. One’s perceptive changes and one is continuously thinking of one’s own struggles and virtues and failing to the exclusion of other thoughts. The result is that the same nationalism which is the symbol of growth for a people becomes a symbol of the cessation of that growth in mind. Nationalism, when it becomes successful sometimes goes on spreading in an aggressive way and becomes a danger internationally. Whatever line of thought you follow, you arrive at the conclusion that some kind of balance must be found. Otherwise something that was good can turn into evil. Culture, which is essentially good becomes not only static but aggressive and something that breeds conflict and hatred when looked at from a wrong point of view. How are you to find a balance, I don’t know. Apart from the political and economic problems of the age, perhaps, that is the greatest problem today because behind it there is tremendous search for something which it cannot find. We turn to economic theories because they have an undoubted importance. It is folly to talk of culture or even of God when human beings starve and die. Before one can talk about anything else one must provide the normal essentials of life to human beings. That is where economics comes in. Human beings today are not in mood to tolerate this suffering and starvation and inequality when they see that the burden is not equally shared. Others profit while they only bear the burden.

Questions

26. The greatest problem in the middle of the passage refers to the question
27. how to mitigate hardship to human beings
28. how to contain the dangers of aggressive nationalism
29. how to share the economic burden equally
30. how to curb international hatred

 

27. Negative national feeling can make a nation
28. selfish
29. self-centred
30. indifferent
31. dangerous

 

28. Suitable title for this passage can be
29. Nationalism breeds unity
30. Nationalism a road to world unity
31. Nationalism is not enough
32. Nationalism and national problems

 

29. ‘Others’ in the last sentence refers to
30. other people
31. other nations
32. other communities
33. other neighbours

 

30. Aggressive nationalism
31. breeds threat to international relations
32. leads to stunted growth
33. endangers national unity
34. isolates a country

 

Passage 7: Detective stories tend to glorify crime. Murderers, gangsters and crooks of all kinds are described as tough, cunning and courageous individuals who know how to take care of themselves and how to get what they want. In James McCain’s The Postman Always Rings twice, for instance the villain is a much more impressive character than his victim. He is casual, brave, smart and successful with women. It is true that he finally gets caught. But he is punished for a crime that he did not commit, so that his conviction is hardly a triumph of justice. Besides, looking back over the exciting life of the criminal, the reader might conclude that it was worth the risk.

Questions

31. The passage mention James McCain
32. A. as an author of detective stories
33. as brave, smart, and successful with women
34. as tough cunning and courageous
35. as being more impressive than others

 

32. Murderers, gangsters and crooks referred to in the passage given above
33. always manage to get away
34. are often glorified in detective stories
35. are wiser than their victims
36. know how to escape from law

 

33. According to this passage, a criminal in a detective story generally gets caught
34. for the crimes he has committed
35. because of his careless mistakes
36. because the police is smarter than the criminals
37. for the crimes he has not committed

 

34. According to the passage, the life of a criminal
35. is exciting
36. is hardly worth the risk
37. is seldom presented in the right perspective
38. ends in a triumph of justice

 

35. According to be passage given above, detective stories
36. make interesting reading
37. are hardly worth reading
38. encourage readers to content crimes
39. tend to create wrong notion about crimes and punishment

 

Passage  8: There is modicum of truth in the assertion that “a working knowledge of ancient history is necessary to the intelligent interpretation of current events”. But the sage who uttered these words of wisdom might well have added something on the benefits of studying, particularly, the famous battles of history for the lessons they contain for those of us who lead or aspire to leadership. Such a study will reveal certain qualities and attributes which enabled the winners to win and certain deficiencies which caused the losers to lose. And the student will see that the same patterns recurs consistently, again and again, throughout the centuries.

 

Questions

36. A person who aspires to lead could learn from the history of battles
37. what led the previous leaders win a battle
38. what made them lose a battle
39. the qualities and deficiencies of commanders of these battles
40. the strategies that they have evolved in course of these battles

 

37. In this context, “intelligent interpretation of current events” means
38. rational explanation of events
39. appropriate understanding of events
40. intellectual outlook on events
41. skilful interpretation of events

 

38. The expression “more than a modicum of truth” means
39. some truth
40. much truth
41. more than a small amount of truth
42. nothing but truth

 

39. According to the writer, a study of famous battles of history would
40. be beneficial to wise men
41. provide food to modern leaders for reflection
42. be more useful than a general knowledge of ancient history
43. help us understand the art of modern warfare

 

40. A knowledge of history is necessary to interpret current problems because
41. they have roots in the past
42. they can be contrasted with the past events
43. they may be repetitions of past events
44. only then they can be put in a proper context

 

Passage 9: The casual horrors and real disasters are thrown at newspaper reader without discrimination. In the contemporary arrangements for circulating the news, an important element, evaluation is always weak and often wanting entirely. There is no point anywhere along the line somewhere someone put his foot down for certain and says, “This is important and that does not amount to row of beans; deserves no one’s attention, and should travel the wires no farther”. The junk is dressed up to look as meaningful as the real news.

Questions

41. Evaluation of news would imply
42. less dependence on modern systems of communication
43. more careful analysis of each news story and its value
44. separating beans from junk
45. discriminating horrors from disasters

 

42. The writer of the above passage
43. seems to be happy with the contemporary arrangements for circulating news
44. is shocked by the casual stories about horrors and disasters reported in the Newspapers
45. wants better evaluation of news before publication
46. wants to put his foot down on news stories

 

43. In the above passage, the phrase “amounts to a row of beans” means that the news
44. is weak and often wanting entirely
45. deserves no one’s attention
46. should travel the wires
47. is junk dressed up as real news

 

44. Newspapers lack a sense of discrimination because
45. they do not separate the real news from junk news for mere sensationalism
46. they have to accept whatever is received on the wires
47. limited manpower makes serious evolution impossible
48. people don’t see the difference between ‘junk’ and ‘real’ news

 

45. The passage implies that
46. there has to be censorship on newspapers
47. there is no point in having censorship
48. newspapers always dress up junk to look meaningful
49. one has to be strict in selecting news items

 

Passage 10: The world dismisses curiosity by calling it idle or mere idle curiosity even though curious persons are seldom idle. Parents do their best to extinguish curiosity in their children because it makes life difficult to be faced every day with a string of unanswerable questions about what makes fire hot or why grass grows. Children whose curiosity survives parental discipline are invited to join our university. With the university, they go on asking their questions and trying to find the answers. In the eyes of a scholar, that is what a university for. Some of the questions which the scholars ask seem to the world to be scarcely worth asking, let alone answering. They asked questions too minute and  specialised for you and me to understand without years of explanation. If the world inquires of one of them why he wants to know the answer to a particular question he may say, especially if he is a scientist, that the answer will in some obscure way make possible a new machine or weapon or gadget. He talks that way because he knows that the world understands and respects utility. But to you who are now part of the university, he will say that he wants to know the answer simply because he does not know it, the way the mountain climber wants to climb a mountain, simply because it is there. Similarly a historian asked by an outsider why he studies history may come out with the argument that he has learnt to respect to report on such occasions, something about knowledge of the past making it possible to understand the present and mould the future. But if you really want to know why a historian studies the past, the answer is much simpler, something happened and he would like to know what. All this does not mean that the answers which scholars strive to find lack consequences but these seldom form the reason for asking the question or pursuing the answers. It is true that scholars can be put to work answering questions for sake of the consequences as thousands are working now, for example, in search of a cure for cancer. But this is not the primary scholars. For the consequences are usually subordinate to the satisfaction of curiosity.

Questions

46. Children whose curiosity survives parental discipline means
47. children retaining their curiosity in spite of being discouraged by their parents
48. children pursuing their mental curiosity
49. children’s curiosity subdued due to parents intervention
50. children being disciplined by their parents

 

47. According to their passage, the children make life difficult for their parents
48. by their ceaseless curiosity
49. by unceasing bombardment of questions
50. by asking irrelevant questions
51. by posing profound questions

 

48. The common people consider some of the questions that the scholars ask unimportant
49. as they are too lazy and idle
50. as they are too modest
51. as it’s beyond their comprehension
52. as it is considered a waste of time

 

49. A historian really studies the past
50. to comprehend the present and to reconstruct the future
51. to explain the present and plan the future
52. to understand the present and mould the future
53. to know what happened in the past

 

50. According to their passage, parents do their best to discourage curiosity in their children
51. because they have no time
52. because they have no patience to answer them
53. because they feel that their children ask stupid questions continuously
54. because they are unable to answer all the questions

 

    READING  COMPREHENSION – 1  ANSWERS

1. D
2. A
3. D
4. A
5. B
6. B
7. D
8. C
9. A
10. C
11. A
12. D
13. B
14. B
15. C
16. B
17. B
18. C
19. B
20. C
21. D
22. C
23. B
24. C
25. D
26. B
27. B
28. C
29. A
30. D
31. A
32. B
33. D
34. C
35. D
36. C
37. A
38. C
39. B
40. C
41. B
42. C
43. B
44. A
45. C
46. A
47. A
48. C
49. D
50. D