English Reading Comprehension

The European concept of continental division has led to

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


The word “continent” actually meant mainland in the past, when the Greeks and Romans ruled the western world. The common view is that a big mass of land that is bigger than a single country and separated from other big masses of land either by sea, mountains or deserts should be a continent. However, a continent is defined upon the needs of a person. Historians divide the world into continents in a different manner. Geography teachers see it differently. Geologists see it from their own viewpoint and people of different countries divide the world into continents to suit their own purposes. There is quite a bit of confusion in the world over the number of continents, their names and their areas. For example, in Europe, they still believe the world to be divided into five continents as represented in the five rings of the Olympic flag. However, Americans divide the Earth’s land mass into seven continents: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica, for such division is the most reasonable and easiest for studying the world.

Which of the following statements is accepted by all?

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


The word “continent” actually meant mainland in the past, when the Greeks and Romans ruled the western world. The common view is that a big mass of land that is bigger than a single country and separated from other big masses of land either by sea, mountains or deserts should be a continent. However, a continent is defined upon the needs of a person. Historians divide the world into continents in a different manner. Geography teachers see it differently. Geologists see it from their own viewpoint and people of different countries divide the world into continents to suit their own purposes. There is quite a bit of confusion in the world over the number of continents, their names and their areas. For example, in Europe, they still believe the world to be divided into five continents as represented in the five rings of the Olympic flag. However, Americans divide the Earth’s land mass into seven continents: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica, for such division is the most reasonable and easiest for studying the world.

Why does the author think that coral reefs face an uncertain future?

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

Coral reefs are one of Earth’s most beautiful, ancient and complex ecosystems. They play an essential role in sustaining life in the sea and serve as a source of food and protection for human communities. But, coral reefs face an uncertain future. As a result of growing human and environmental assaults, reefs are among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. Ecological research provides information that is  fundamental to understanding and combating this trend. Corals are actually animals with plants living inside them. A coral structure is actually composed of hundreds or thousands of tiny animals growing together as a colony. Several polyps make a coral, which together form a reef.
Coral reefs are the most diverse and productive marine communities on the planet. They play a critical role as habitat and nursery grounds for 10 to 20% of the world’s fisheries. They are intimately connected to other marine communities such as mangrove forests, sea grass beds, and the open seas as water currents transport larvae, plants, animals, nutrients and organic materials. They play a significant role in the development of other ecosystems, such as mangroves and wetlands, and protect coastlines from waves, storm damage and erosion.

The phrase 'light up' as used in the passage implies

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

When you use tobacco products, nicotine is quickly absorbed into your bloodstream. Within 10 seconds of entering your body, the nicotine reaches your brain. It causes the brain to release adrenaline, creating a buzz of pleasure and energy.
The buzz fades quickly though, and leaves you feeling tired, a little down, and wanting the buzz again. This feeling is what makes you light up the next cigarette. Since your body is able to build up a high tolerance to nicotine, you’ll need to smoke more and more cigarettes in order to get the nicotine’s pleasurable effects and prevent withdrawal symptoms.
This up and down cycle repeats over and over, leading to addiction. Addiction keeps people smoking even when they want to quit. Breaking addiction is harder for some people than others. Many people need more than one try in order to quit. 
Research suggests that children and teens may be especially sensitive to nicotine, making it easier for them to become addicted. The younger the smokers are when they start, the more likely they are to become addicted. In fact, about three out of four high school smokers will become adult smokers.

Why did some families refuse vaccination for their children?

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

India’s polio-free certification, which was awarded by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014 for ensuring polio did not infect anyone in three straight years, took almost two decades of very hard work. Though vaccination against polio started in 1978 under India’s Expanded Programme in Immunisation, only about 40% children under five were being reached by 1984.
Following the WHO’s Polio Eradication Initiative, India launched its Pulse Polio Programme in 1995 with the target to vaccinate every child under five. It took some years, but it met targets. For successive years, each one of the country’s 26 million newborns was vaccinated against the paralysing infection not once but repeatedly for the first five years of their lives. The biggest challenges were geography (for example, in the Kosi river belt in Bihar annual floods isolate several hundred families), work-related migration and ignorance: some families would refuse vaccination because they were convinced the drops would make their children impotent.
Ensuring these lifesaving drops reach around 800 million children each year — 172 million children are reached in each nationwide round of vaccination, and then there are sub-national rounds — is a spectacular feat by any standards.

Which of the following words is the closest in meaning to the word ‘isolate’?

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

India’s polio-free certification, which was awarded by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014 for ensuring polio did not infect anyone in three straight years, took almost two decades of very hard work. Though vaccination against polio started in 1978 under India’s Expanded Programme in Immunisation, only about 40% children under five were being reached by 1984.
Following the WHO’s Polio Eradication Initiative, India launched its Pulse Polio Programme in 1995 with the target to vaccinate every child under five. It took some years, but it met targets. For successive years, each one of the country’s 26 million newborns was vaccinated against the paralysing infection not once but repeatedly for the first five years of their lives. The biggest challenges were geography (for example, in the Kosi river belt in Bihar annual floods isolate several hundred families), work-related migration and ignorance: some families would refuse vaccination because they were convinced the drops would make their children impotent.
Ensuring these lifesaving drops reach around 800 million children each year — 172 million children are reached in each nationwide round of vaccination, and then there are sub-national rounds — is a spectacular feat by any standards.

What happens to an old man in the passage?

Directions: The passage is followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows. For the question four probable answers bearing options (1), (2), (3) and (4) are given. Only one out of those is correct. You have to choose the correct answer.

A priest is asked by some villagers to give his blessings to a dying woman. He does and a miracle happens. The woman revives. A few days later the blessings of the priest revive two other people - an old man and a cripple. What causes these miracles? Nobody knows the answer to this question. But, wherever he goes, he heals many people of their ailments and sickness. Finally, he reaches a remote village where no sick person shows up. He is left puzzled.

Where does the priest reach in the end?

Directions: The passage is followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows. For the question four probable answers bearing options (1), (2), (3) and (4) are given. Only one out of those is correct. You have to choose the correct answer.

A priest is asked by some villagers to give his blessings to a dying woman. He does and a miracle happens. The woman revives. A few days later the blessings of the priest revive two other people - an old man and a cripple. What causes these miracles? Nobody knows the answer to this question. But, wherever he goes, he heals many people of their ailments and sickness. Finally, he reaches a remote village where no sick person shows up. He is left puzzled.

What do the villagers ask the priest to do?

Directions: The passage is followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows. For the question four probable answers bearing options (1), (2), (3) and (4) are given. Only one out of those is correct. You have to choose the correct answer.

A priest is asked by some villagers to give his blessings to a dying woman. He does and a miracle happens. The woman revives. A few days later the blessings of the priest revive two other people - an old man and a cripple. What causes these miracles? Nobody knows the answer to this question. But, wherever he goes, he heals many people of their ailments and sickness. Finally, he reaches a remote village where no sick person shows up. He is left puzzled.

Nobody knows

Directions: The passage is followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows. For the question four probable answers bearing options (1), (2), (3) and (4) are given. Only one out of those is correct. You have to choose the correct answer.

A priest is asked by some villagers to give his blessings to a dying woman. He does and a miracle happens. The woman revives. A few days later the blessings of the priest revive two other people - an old man and a cripple. What causes these miracles? Nobody knows the answer to this question. But, wherever he goes, he heals many people of their ailments and sickness. Finally, he reaches a remote village where no sick person shows up. He is left puzzled.

Why the priest is left puzzled?

Directions: The passage is followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows. For the question four probable answers bearing options (1), (2), (3) and (4) are given. Only one out of those is correct. You have to choose the correct answer.

A priest is asked by some villagers to give his blessings to a dying woman. He does and a miracle happens. The woman revives. A few days later the blessings of the priest revive two other people - an old man and a cripple. What causes these miracles? Nobody knows the answer to this question. But, wherever he goes, he heals many people of their ailments and sickness. Finally, he reaches a remote village where no sick person shows up. He is left puzzled.

‘Rivers turned into important waterways and were used to transport goods,’ means

Directions: The passage is followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows. For the question four probable answers bearing options (1), (2), (3) and (4) are given. Only one out of those is correct. You have to the choose correct answer.

Rivers have always played a dominant role in history. Many civilizations have been built along great rivers. Rivers gave them farmland to grow crops as well as a route to travel and trade their goods with other people. As time went by some rivers turned into important waterways and were used to transport goods to the inner parts of a continent.

Why did he fall?

Directions: The passage is followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows. For the question four probable answers bearing options (1), (2), (3) and (4) are given. Only one out of those is correct. You have to choose the correct answer.

Aman tripped while he was trying to catch a bus. He was on the floor. The bus left without him. "Are you alright?" a girl asked. He was holding his arm. "I think I broke my arm," he said to the girl. The girl dialled 102. "Help is on the way," the girl said. She helped him up. He wondered why he fell. He looked down and saw his laces were untied. He had forgotten to tie his laces. He started to cry. His arm was in terrible pain. "The ambulance is coming soon," the girl said. She felt bad for the boy. She knew how much it would have hurt because she had had a similar experience a few months ago.

What experience had the girl had?

Directions: The passage is followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows. For the question four probable answers bearing options (1), (2), (3) and (4) are given. Only one out of those is correct. You have to choose the correct answer.

Aman tripped while he was trying to catch a bus. He was on the floor. The bus left without him. "Are you alright?" a girl asked. He was holding his arm. "I think I broke my arm," he said to the girl. The girl dialled 102. "Help is on the way," the girl said. She helped him up. He wondered why he fell. He looked down and saw his laces were untied. He had forgotten to tie his laces. He started to cry. His arm was in terrible pain. "The ambulance is coming soon," the girl said. She felt bad for the boy. She knew how much it would have hurt because she had had a similar experience a few months ago.

What did the girl do?

Directions: The passage is followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows. For the question four probable answers bearing options (1), (2), (3) and (4) are given. Only one out of those is correct. You have to choose the correct answer.

Aman tripped while he was trying to catch a bus. He was on the floor. The bus left without him. "Are you alright?" a girl asked. He was holding his arm. "I think I broke my arm," he said to the girl. The girl dialled 102. "Help is on the way," the girl said. She helped him up. He wondered why he fell. He looked down and saw his laces were untied. He had forgotten to tie his laces. He started to cry. His arm was in terrible pain. "The ambulance is coming soon," the girl said. She felt bad for the boy. She knew how much it would have hurt because she had had a similar experience a few months ago.