Reading comprehension practice set
Passage -1 :
Nehru’s was a many-sided personality. He enjoyed reading and writing books as much as he enjoyed fighting political and social evils or resisting tyranny. In him the scientist and the humanist were held in perfect balance. While he kept looking at social 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 non-believer, he loved affirming his faith in life and the beauty of nature.
- A many-sided personality means
(A) a complex personality
(B) a secretive personality
(C) a person having varied interests
(D) a capable person. - Pt. Nehru enjoyed
(A) reading and writing books.
(B) fighting political and social evils.
(C) resisting tyranny.
(D) doing all these and much more. - Which of the following statements reflects Pt. Nehru’s point of view ?
(A) Humanism is more important than Science.
(B) Science is supreme and Humanism is subordinate to it.
(C) Science and Humanism are equally important.
(D) There is no common ground between Science and Humanism.
Passage -2 : Ravi Shankar has a large circle of friends and is very popular at parties. Everybody admires him for his fine sense of humor. everybody, that is, except his six-year old daughter Meenakshi. Recently one of Ravi’s friends asked him to make a speech at a reception. This is the sort of thing that Ravi loves. He prepared the speech carefully and went to the party with Meenakshi. He had included a large number of funny stories in the speech and, of course, it was a great success. As soon as he had finished, Meenakshi told him she wanted to go home. Ravi was a little disappointed by this but he did as his daughter asked. On the way home, he asked Meenakshi if she had enjoyed the speech. To his surprise, she said she hadn’t. Ravi asked her why this as so and she told him that she did not like to see so many people laughing at him.
- Ravi was popular because:
(a) he made speeches
(b) he told stories
(c) he had a good sense of humor
(d) he loved parties
- Ravi loves to:
(a) meet people
(b) talk to his daughter
(c) make a speech
(d) made people laugh
- Ravi went to the party!
(a) with his wife
(b) with his mother
(c) with his daughter
(d) with his friend
- Ravi was disappointed because:
(a) Meenakshi did not enjoy his speech
(b) Meenakshi wanted to go home immediately after the speech
(c) People did not like his speech
(d) Meenakshi did not like people laughing at Ravi
- Meenakshi failed to rallies party:
(a) the party was over
(b) everyone had been laughing at Ravi’s stories, not at Ravi
(c) Ravi had finished his speech
(d) it was a reception party
Passage – 3 : ‘Earthquake is a shaking of the ground caused by the sudden breaking and shifting of large sections of the earth’s rocky outer shell. Rock movements during an earthquake can make rivers change their course. Earthquakes can trigger landslides that cause great damage and loss of life. Large earthquakes beneath the ocean can create a series of huge destructive waves called tsunamis. Earthquakes usually never kill people directly. Instead, many deaths and injuries result from falling objects and the collapse of structures. “The force of an earthquake depends on how much rock breaks and how far it shifts.
- What causes an earthquake ?
(A) Floods
(B) Deforestation
(C) Construction activities
(D) Movement of the earth’s rocky outer shell
- What changes the direction of rivers?
(A) Use of explosives
(B) Movement of rocks
(C) Landslides
(D) Soil erosion
- What do earthquakes beneath the ocean create ?
(A) Tsunamis
(B) Eruptions
(C) Shifting of the earth’s tectonic plates
(D) Cracks in the ground
- What causes the deaths of people during earthquakes?
(A) Stampede
(B) Lack of health
(C) Falling objects and collapse of structures
(D) Panic
- The force of an earthquake depends on what?
(A) Shaking of the ground
(B) Shifting and breaking of rocks
(C) Gravity
(D) Magnitude
Passage -4 : In 776 BC the First Olympic Games were held at the foot of Mount Olympus to honour the Greek’s chief God, Zeus. The Greeks emphasised, physical fitness and strength in their education of youth. Therefore contests in running, boxing, jumping, discus and javelin throwing, horse and chariot’ racing were held in individual cities and the winners competed every four years at Mount Olympus. Winners were greatly honoured by having poems sung about their deeds. Originally these were held as games of friendship and any wars in progress were halted to allow the games to take place. The Greeks attached so much importance to these games that they calculated time in four year cycles called ‘Olympiads’ dating from 776 BC.
- Where were the First Olympic Games held?
At the foot of
(a) Mount Olympus.
(b) Mount Olympiad.
(c) Mount Orels.
(d) Mount of Greeks.
- Why were the Olympic Games held?
(a) To stop wars.
(b) To crown the best athletes.
(c) To honour Zeus.
(d) To sing songs about athletes.
- Approximately how many years ago did these games originate?
(a) 776 years.
(b) 2279 years.
(c) 1207 years.
(d) 2798 years.
- Which of the following contest was not held?
(a) Discus throwing.
(b) Skating
(c) Boxing
(d) Running.
- The values connected with Olympic Games were:
(a) physical fitness, education of youth and friendship.
(b) health, contests and singing.
(c) running, jumping, throwing and boxing.
(d) four-year cycles, war-time, young age and friendship.
Passage -5 :
The Ganges is one of the largest rivers in Asia. It rises in the Himalaya Mountains and flows over 2,500 km through India and Bangladesh into the Bay of Bengal. However, the Ganges, India’s holy river, is also one of the most polluted in the world. The Ganges River basin has a size of over 1 million square km. It lies in one of the most populous regions on earth. About 500 million people, half of India’s overall population, live in the Ganges river plains.
There are many causes of Ganges river pollution. About 2 million Hindus bathe in the river every day. During religious ceremonies, up to a hundred million people clean their sins away in the Ganges River. They believe that bathing in the river will make them pure. In addition, thousands of bodies are cremated near the river, especially around the holy city, Varanasi. The ashes are often released into Ganges.
The Ganges also provides water for farming land, which is increasing at a tremendous rate. Irrigation projects cause water levels to go down along the river. More and more dams are being erected along India’s holy river, mainly to produce energy for Delhi and other large cities in the area. The river flows through 30 cities with a population of over 100,000 each. Every day, 3 billion litres of untreated water from these big cities pass into the Ganges River, along with remains of animals.
Because of India’s lax environmental regulations, industries along the river release chemicals and other poisonous material into the Ganges. In some places they are a thousand times over the allowed limit. Especially India’s traditional leather industry needs great amounts of water. In addition, fertilizers from the fields find their way into the ground water, and ultimately flow into the river. Altogether, the amount of industrial pollution has doubled in the past 20 years. This widespread pollution of the Ganges River has also led to major health problems. Many diseases are common, including cholera, hepatitis and diarrhea. While India’s population keeps growing, more and more people are leaving the countryside and moving to big cities along the Ganges. As a result, the river will not be able to cope with even more people. Life in the river is also at risk. Recent reports have shown that there is a high level of mercury in some fish. The construction of dams is destroying forests and vegetation, killing off many animal and plants.
Indian authorities are fighting an upward battle towards cleaning up the Ganges River. International organizations have offered help. The World Bank has agreed to give India a loan of up to a billion dollars to clean up the Ganges River.
- From which of the following neighbouring countries, The Ganga flow through India into Bay of Bengal?
A. China
B. Bhutan
C. Bangladesh
D. Sri Lanka
- How many people (in million) clean their sins away in the Ganga River?
A. 2
B. 100
C. 500
D. 750
- According to the passage, which disease is not common due to the widespread pollution of the Ganga River?
A. Influenza
B. Diarrhoea
C. Hepatitis
D. Cholera
- According to the passage, which industry in India needs great amount of water? A. Lock
B. Dyeing
C. Cloth
D. Leather - Which International organization has agreed to give India a loan of a billion dollar to clean up the Ganga River?
A. The World Bank
B. IMF
C. ADB
D. IDA
Passage -6 :
‘Global warming is a very serious issue
direction. The result will be the disruption of
warming of the Arctic region, huge amount of methane which is now frozen under the ocean
that is concerning every rational being on earth. Changes in rainfall and plant distribution as a result of global warming affect the migratory routes, feeding behaviour and mating habits of many birds. The rise in temperature might also lead to a change in ocean currents which might change their the entire marine ecosystem. “Due to the shall escape into the air with the continuous melting of the region. This will cause a vicious cycle as methane is a green house gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and the added emissions might increase the warming process. The damage done can only be negated now by making every individual environment conscious. This might help in making us hope to gift a “green earth to our future generation which now appears to face the threat of extinction.
- What is a very serious issue according to the author?
(A) Global warming
(B) Changes in rainfall
(C) Feeding behaviour
(D) Changes in rainfall and feeding
- behaviour What is the antonym of ‘rational’?
(A) stupid
(B) foolish
(C) inrational
(D) irrational
- What might lead to a change in ocean currents?
(A) Disruption of marine ecosystem
(B) Rise in temperature
(C) Disruption of marine ecosystem and rise in temperature
(D) Regulation of temperature
- According to the author,
(A) melting of the Arctic region will preserve methane
(B) melting of the Arctic region was long foreseen
(C) Warming of the Arctic region will release methane into the atmosphere
(D) warming of the Arctic region will preserve methane
- What appears to face a threat of extinction today? (A) The migratory birds
(B) The green house gases
(C) Marine ecosystem
(D) Our green earth
Passage -7 :
The third defect of our civilization is that it does not know what to do with its knowledge. Science has given us powers fit for the gods, yet we use them like small children. For example, we do not know how to manage our machines. Machines were made to be man’s servants; yet he has grown so dependent on them that they are in a fair way to become his masters. Already most men spend most of their lives looking after and waiting upon machines. And the machines are very stern masters. They must be fed with coal, and given petrol to drink, and oil to wash with, and they must be kept at the right temperature. And if they do not get their meals when they expect them, they grow sulky and refuse to work, or burst with rage, and blow up, and spread ruin and destruction all around them. So we have to wait upon them very attentively and do all that we can to keep them in a good temper. Already we find it difficult either to work or play without the machines, and a time may come when they rule us altogether, just as we rule animals.
And this brings me to the point at which I asked. “What do we do with all the time which the machines have saved for us, and the new energy that they have given us?” On the whole, it must be admitted, we do very little. For the most part we use our time and energy to make more and better machines, but more and better machines will only give us still more time and more energy, and what we do with them? The answer, I think, is that we should try to become more civilized. For the machines themselves, and the power which machines have given us, are not civilization but aids to civilization.
- What were the machines made for?
(a) For serving men
(b) To be stern masters
(c) To give us extra time
(d) To make other machines
- What are the machines turning out to be?
(a) Man’s servants
(c) The masters of men
(b) Better machines
(d) To give new energy
- What do we usually do with the time and us by the machines?
(a) Spend our lives looking after them
(b) Make more and better machines
(c) Become civilized
(d) Rule animals
- In ‘if they do not get their meals’, ‘they’ refers to
(a) machine
(c) gods
(d) people
(b) scientists
- How do we use the power given to us by Science?
(a) Intelligently
(c) Like machines
(b) Like Small children
(d) Like a scientist
Passage -8:
Most of the products that humans require to satisfy their needs and desires are obtained from land. Land provides living organisms with food and shelter. It provides for the bulk of human needs and wants such as food, clothing, housing, transportation etc. Land covers only 30 percent of the total area of the earth out of which large parts of it is not suitable for habitation due to severe climatic conditions or unfavourable topography. The density of the populated regions is confined to sub-tropical and mid-latitudinal zones comprising of about 66 percent of the total population.
- Land provides organisms with. (a) fruits and vegetables
(b) food and shelter
(c) air and water
(d) shelter and protection - Land covers only…% of the total area of the earth.
(a) 30
(b) 3.0
(c) 0.3
(d) 35
- Most of the land is not suitable for habitation due to…
(a) severe climatic conditions or favourable topography.
(b) pleasant climatic conditions or favourable topography
(c) severe climatic conditions or unfavourable topography
(d) harsh climatic conditions or unpredictable topography
- Most of the population lives in
(a) hot areas
(b) cold areas
(c) sub-tropical and mid-latitudinal zones
(d) only mid-latitudinal zones
- Most of the product that humans require to satisfy their needs and desire are obtained from
(a) man-made goods
(c) industries
(b) water-bodies
(d) land
