English Language

English Reading Comprehension

2,692 Questions

English reading comprehension questions assess the ability to understand, analyze, and interpret written passages. Formats include paragraph rearrangement, cloze tests, and fact finding from text. Regular practice is essential for scoring well in the English sections of banking, SSC, and railway exams.

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English Reading Comprehension Questions

Multiple choice

What was the ant searching for?

Directions: Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following question.

One hot day, an ant was looking for some water. After wandering around for some time, she came to a spring. To reach the spring, she had to mount a blade of grass. While making her way up, she slipped and fell into the water. She could have drowned if a dove sitting nearby a tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly picked a leaf and dropped it into the water near the struggling ant. The ant went towards the leaf and climbed up. Soon it carried her safely to dry ground. Just at that time, a hunter nearby was throwing out his net towards the dove, hoping to trap it. Guessing what he was about to do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net. The dove escaped away safely. So, one should always help others to be helped by others.

  1. It was searching for blades.

  2. It was seaching for a spring.

  3. It was seaching for sugar.

  4. It was seaching for water.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

It is the correct answer as it is clearly mentioned in the first line. "an ant was looking for some water." Hence, this answer is correct.

Multiple choice

What did the servant suggest to the king?

Directions: Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following question.

Once upon a time there was a king who lived in a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some remote areas of his country. When he returned to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he had gone for such a long trip, and the roads that he went through were very coarse and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather. Definitely, this would need thousands of cows’ skin, and would cost a huge amount of money. Then one of his wise servants dared himself to tell the king, “Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don’t you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?” The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion and made a shoe for himself. So, to make the world a better place to live, one should change oneself, not the world.

  1. He suggested that the king should cover his feet with leather.

  2. He suggested to repair the roads.

  3. He suggested to lay leather on the roads.

  4. He suggested him to buy something to protect his feet.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

It matches with the information given in the passage. "Why don’t you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?" Hence, this answer is correct.

Multiple choice

How were the roads?

Directions: Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following question.

Once upon a time there was a king who lived in a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some remote areas of his country. When he returned to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he had gone for such a long trip, and the roads that he went through were very coarse and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather. Definitely, this would need thousands of cows’ skin, and would cost a huge amount of money. Then one of his wise servants dared himself to tell the king, “Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don’t you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?” The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion and made a shoe for himself. So, to make the world a better place to live, one should change oneself, not the world.

  1. The roads were smooth.

  2. The roads were rough.

  3. The roads were rough and smooth.

  4. The roads were rough and stony.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

It matches with the information given in the passage. "the roads that he went through were very coarse and stony." Hence, this answer is correct.

Multiple choice

What was the neck of the pot like?

Directions: Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following question.

One hot sunny day, a thirsty crow was flying all over the fields in search for water. For a long time, he could not find any. He felt very weak, almost giving up hope. Suddenly, he saw an earthen pot below him. He flew down to see if there was any water inside. He saw some water inside the pot! The crow tried to insert his head into the jug. Sadly, he found that the neck of the pot was too narrow. Then he tried to push the pot down for the water to flow out. He found that the pot was too heavy. The crow kept thinking for a while. Then he saw some pebbles. Suddenly an idea struck his mind. He started picking up the pebbles one by one, dropping each into the pot. As more and more pebbles filled the jug, the water level kept rising. Soon it was high enough for the crow to drink. His plan had worked! So one should never give up, instead one should keep trying to get what one wants.

  1. It was thin.

  2. It was wide.

  3. It was narrow.

  4. It was closed.

  5. dummy
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

It matches with information given in the passage.

Multiple choice

What was the crow looking for?

Directions: Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following question.

One hot sunny day, a thirsty crow was flying all over the fields in search for water. For a long time, he could not find any. He felt very weak, almost giving up hope. Suddenly, he saw an earthen pot below him. He flew down to see if there was any water inside. He saw some water inside the pot! The crow tried to insert his head into the jug. Sadly, he found that the neck of the pot was too narrow. Then he tried to push the pot down for the water to flow out. He found that the pot was too heavy. The crow kept thinking for a while. Then he saw some pebbles. Suddenly an idea struck his mind. He started picking up the pebbles one by one, dropping each into the pot. As more and more pebbles filled the jug, the water level kept rising. Soon it was high enough for the crow to drink. His plan had worked! So one should never give up, instead one should keep trying to get what one wants.

  1. Pebbles

  2. An earthen pot

  3. Water

  4. Stones

  5. dummy
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

It matches with the information given in the passage.

Multiple choice

What did the crow see on the way?

Directions: Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following question.

One hot sunny day, a thirsty crow was flying all over the fields in search for water. For a long time, he could not find any. He felt very weak, almost giving up hope. Suddenly, he saw an earthen pot below him. He flew down to see if there was any water inside. He saw some water inside the pot! The crow tried to insert his head into the jug. Sadly, he found that the neck of the pot was too narrow. Then he tried to push the pot down for the water to flow out. He found that the pot was too heavy. The crow kept thinking for a while. Then he saw some pebbles. Suddenly an idea struck his mind. He started picking up the pebbles one by one, dropping each into the pot. As more and more pebbles filled the jug, the water level kept rising. Soon it was high enough for the crow to drink. His plan had worked! So one should never give up, instead one should keep trying to get what one wants.

  1. An earthen pot

  2. An earthen pot of water

  3. An earthen jug

  4. Water

  5. dummy
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

It matches with the information given in the passage.

Multiple choice

What does 'pebble' mean in the passage?

Directions: Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following question.

One hot sunny day, a thirsty crow was flying all over the fields in search for water. For a long time, he could not find any. He felt very weak, almost giving up hope. Suddenly, he saw an earthen pot below him. He flew down to see if there was any water inside. He saw some water inside the pot! The crow tried to insert his head into the jug. Sadly, he found that the neck of the pot was too narrow. Then he tried to push the pot down for the water to flow out. He found that the pot was too heavy. The crow kept thinking for a while. Then he saw some pebbles. Suddenly an idea struck his mind. He started picking up the pebbles one by one, dropping each into the pot. As more and more pebbles filled the jug, the water level kept rising. Soon it was high enough for the crow to drink. His plan had worked! So one should never give up, instead one should keep trying to get what one wants.

  1. Small stone

  2. Rock

  3. Boulder

  4. Soil

  5. dummy
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Concept based

Multiple choice

What does 'struggling' mean in the passage?

Directions: Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following question.

One hot day, an ant was looking for some water. After wandering around for some time, she came to a spring. To reach the spring, she had to mount a blade of grass. While making her way up, she slipped and fell into the water. She could have drowned if a dove sitting nearby a tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly picked a leaf and dropped it into the water near the struggling ant. The ant went towards the leaf and climbed up. Soon it carried her safely to dry ground. Just at that time, a hunter nearby was throwing out his net towards the dove, hoping to trap it. Guessing what he was about to do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net. The dove escaped away safely. So, one should always help others to be helped by others.

  1. Flowing in water

  2. Experiencing difficulty

  3. Experiencing joy

  4. Experiencing the water flow
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

It matches with the information given in the passage. Hence, this answer is correct.

Multiple choice

What did the crow do to get water?

Directions: Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following question.

One hot sunny day, a thirsty crow was flying all over the fields in search for water. For a long time, he could not find any. He felt very weak, almost giving up hope. Suddenly, he saw an earthen pot below him. He flew down to see if there was any water inside. He saw some water inside the pot! The crow tried to insert his head into the jug. Sadly, he found that the neck of the pot was too narrow. Then he tried to push the pot down for the water to flow out. He found that the pot was too heavy. The crow kept thinking for a while. Then he saw some pebbles. Suddenly an idea struck his mind. He started picking up the pebbles one by one, dropping each into the pot. As more and more pebbles filled the jug, the water level kept rising. Soon it was high enough for the crow to drink. His plan had worked! So one should never give up, instead one should keep trying to get what one wants.

  1. He filled the pot with pebbles and stones.

  2. He broke the pot.

  3. He moved the pot.

  4. He used a straw.

  5. dummy
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

It matches with the information given in the passage.

Multiple choice

Directions: The question has four statements. Each statement uses a pair of words marked (A) and (B), one of which will make coherent sense in context of the sentence. For each sentence, choose the best fit and select the option that indicates all correct answers.

(1) Everyone was (A) respective / (B) respectful towards his/her parents. (2) Please (A) precede / (B) proceed towards the main exit. (3) The feeling was (A) too / (B) two good to be true. (4) (A) Who's / (B) Whose book is this?

  1. AAAA

  2. BBAA

  3. BBAB

  4. BABA

  5. ABAB
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

(B) 'Respectful' means someone showing respect. (B) 'Proceed' means to move forward. (A) 'Two' means a pair. The correct usage is 'too good to be true'. (B) 'Who's' is the short form of 'who is'. 'Whose' is the correct usage as the possessive of case of 'who'.

Multiple choice

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

What on earth is an engaging ruffian. He must be a creature of literary imagination, I thought, for the two words do not match in my personal experience. It has happened to me to meet a few ruffians here and there, but I never found one of them engaging. I consoled myself, however, by reflecting that the friendly reviewer must have been talking like a parrot, which so often seems to understand what it says.

What message does the passage convey?

  1. To draw attention to bizarre descriptions at times given by the literary people

  2. To run down those who describe ruffians as engaging

  3. To draw a parallel between a writer and a parrot

  4. To castigate all ruffians of the world as creature of literary imagination

  5. To show that even as some writers find some critics as inane and gibberish, they do not openly resent it
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The writer minces no word to suggest that the writers do not openly resent the critics who make bizarre and inane observations.

Multiple choice

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

There is no instance in history of a more marvellous and sudden up-surging of strength in a nation than modern Japan. There were several theories to account for the uprising, but the intellectual Japanese told us as to what were the fountains of that mighty awakening, the sources of that inexhaustible strength. They were drawn from religion. It was the Vedantic teachings of Oyomei and the recovery of Shintoism with its worship of the national Shakti of Japan in the image and person of the Mikado that enabled the little island empire to wield the stupendous weapons of Western knowledge and science with the same ease with which Arjun wielded the Gandiv.

What is the central idea of the passage?

  1. To show that Japan would not have progressed thus far if it had not relied on the teachings of the Vedas

  2. To demonstrate that the ease with which Arjun wielded Gandiv had no parallel

  3. To elucidate on how the Vedantic teachings helped Japanese master and control the weapons of Western knowledge and science

  4. To show the history of Japan is much like the history of ancient India

  5. To demonstrate that Japan owes much of its progress to Arjun who wielded Gandiv
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The writer traces Japan's stupendous progress to their religious outlook whereby Vedantic teachings enabled them to acquire Western knowledge and science.

Multiple choice

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Though the prose writing of the period is not great in bulk, it shows a profound change in style. Previous writers had done remarkable and beautiful work in prose, but clear style had not yet found itself. It was wayward and erratic, often cumbrous and often obscure, and weighted with a Latinized construction and vocabulary. In Dryden's time prose begins definitely to find its feet. It acquires a general utility and permanence; it is smoothed and straightened, simplified and harmonized. This is the age of average prose, and prepares the way for the works of those that then stood on the threshold of the modern prose style.

What is the author's purpose in writing the passage?

  1. To play down the importance of prose writing

  2. To show that Dryden's age lacked style

  3. To suggest that Dryden's age served as a springboard for the more enlightened writers

  4. To heap praises on the Latinized construction and vocabulary

  5. To show that average prose was all that mattered
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The writer clearly states that even as the age of Dryden had begun to find its feet, the age only served as springboard for others who took prose-writing to a greater height.

Multiple choice

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The space between the waves and the foot of the cliffs was very broad; one might walk for half an hour before reaching the latter. Our boots crushed innumerable shells of all shapes and sizes, the remains of prehistoric creatures. We saw enormous carapaces, sometimes fifteen feet across, which had belonged to beasts of which the modern tortoise is but a greatly reduced reproduction. Besides this, the stones covering the ground were rounded, and disposed in rows and layers; from all of which we concluded that at one time the sea had covered this part, now beyond its reach.

What is the author`s purpose in writing the passage?

  1. To show what it takes to be an explorer

  2. To acquaint us with the grind an explorer has to undergo

  3. To take the readers through the rigours of traversing through difficult terrains

  4. To expose readers to the romance of exploration

  5. To demonstrate the remains of prehistoric creatures
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Exploration is always a romantic feat and the writer is exposing his readers to that romance.

Multiple choice

Find the word which means 'a place where there are no people'.

Directions: Read the passage given carefully and answer the question that follows.

Rain in the countryside attracts the lovers of nature. It is pleasant and helpful. But rain in the city creates a different kind of sight. For some people, the heavy downpour may have a cooling effect, and it has its charm with the roar of thunder and the flash of lightening. On a rainy day, the lanes and the streets look like rivers and the entire city becomes magically converted into Venice. The street bears a deserted look. Occasionally, people try to plod their way. Their clothes are tucked up and they hold the umbrella in one hand and their bag in the other. A sudden gush of wind tilts their umbrella and they get drenched. If a vehicle passes speedily, it splashes muddy water on them. Sometimes, the streets become water-logged and traffic comes to a halt.

  1. Lane

  2. Deserted

  3. Halt

  4. Town
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

It is given that a street gives a deserted look, which means that there are no people there.