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 general knowledge math & puzzles

The witness tells The Sherlock Holmes. I am impressed. Now I will tell you the truth. Though I don’t know who the killer is but I can tell the name of people I suspect. Lady Mariana has been survived by 1 spouse and 3 children. His husband William is an alcoholic. Her younger kid is just 5 year old. However, her two sons named Kyle and Don are 22 and 20 year old respectively and are from her earlier husband jack. Either of the four can be the murder as the murder was an inside job and victim was well connected with the killer. When they were called, they provided following facts known to be true. Find the killer knowing the murder was committed at 2 A.M. 1. By 12 midnight elder son was sleeping at the bed 2. Till 1 A.M the younger son was spending time with his GF. 3. Jack has been married to Diana and was with her till 1 post midnight. 4. William returned from the pub at 1:45 and directly went to bed. 5. Non of the people related to Mariana by the blood is the Killer 6. Jack went to pub and met William at 1:15 and stayed there till 3

  1. Don

  2. Kyle

  3. William

  4. jack
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

William is the killer. The logic puzzle eliminates blood relatives (Kyle and Don are sons). Jack has an alibi (at pub 1:15-3 AM, murder at 2 AM). William returned at 1:45 and went directly to bed - but his return time is unverified and as the non-blood spouse, he's the only suspect without a confirmed alibi. Kyle's sleeping claim by midnight is also unverified, but the blood-relative rule clears him.

Multiple choice general knowledge math & puzzles

Jack in season 1 of 24 has to assassinate the President to save his wife from being murdered who has been kidnapped by the Terrorists. Jack gives Nina her colleague in CTU that she needs to solve to get an account no. where terrorist has transferred the money. Since, he was being monitored. He asked her abruptly, you remember, When we were dating in Bahamas near the beach. While lying in the shades of palm tree I gifted you a perl necklace. The necklace has been bought from a shop. The shopkeeper told me, “He is selling it at a profit of 10%”. I sold the necklace for $ 50000 last month at a loss of 50%. As I have come to know, the shopkeeper bought it from other dealer who sold him at a margin of 12 percent margin. I want u to check, the resulting figure if the cost at which dealer sold the necklace is multiplied by 888.5. The account no. which Nina needs to check is

  1. 763692000

  2. 745320000

  3. 7636920000

  4. data insufficent
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Multiple choice general knowledge sports

Chandler is very funny. He has endured a tough childhood after realizing that his father is GAY and His mother is sleeping with every other guy. Despite being a result of broken marriage, there is one aspect of him that has defined him in a new way in Friends. We saw his demeanor after break up with Janus and then through out his relationship with Monica. It’s his allegiance that has made him something different from other. What is the meaning of ' NOT HAVING ALLEGIANCE'?

  1. Treachery

  2. flirt

  3. fidelity

  4. Infidelity
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Multiple choice general knowledge

According to the Grimm story, before Snow White’s wicked stepmother gave her the poisoned apple, she had tried on two previous occasions to kill her, only to be foiled by the seven dwarfs. On the first occasion, the wicked queen laced Snow White’s corset stays so tightly that the poor girl fell insensible and seemed dead. On the second occasion, the queen tried to kill Snow White (called Snow Drop in the Grimm version) by giving her:

  1. An enchanted knife, that would stab its wielder

  2. A covered basket containing an asp

  3. A poisoned comb

  4. A bouquet of sweet-smelling but deadly flowers
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

In the Grimm version of Snow White, the wicked queen makes three attempts to kill Snow White. First, she laces her corset stays tightly enough to make her faint. Second, she gives her a poisoned comb that makes her appear dead. Only the third attempt with the poisoned apple finally succeeds until the prince arrives. The dwarfs rescue Snow White from both the corset and the comb incidents.

Multiple choice general knowledge

Snow White's stepmother was driven to her wicked deeds by envy: her magic mirror told her that Snow White, not she, was "the fairest of them all". Oddly enough:

  1. Snow White was only seven years old

  2. The mirror was a gift from Snow White herself

  3. Until then, the queen had been famed for her goodness & charity

  4. She & Snow White were both rather plump
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

In the Brothers Grimm version of 'Schneewittchen' (Snow White), the princess was indeed seven years old when the magic mirror declared her the fairest. This surprisingly young age highlights the stepmother's envy - that a child could surpass an adult woman in beauty. The other options are fictional details not found in the original fairy tale.

Multiple choice general knowledge

In Hans Christian Anderson's The Tinder Box, the fortunes of an impoverished soldier take a turn for the better when he comes into possession of a magic tinder box:

  1. By stealing it from the sleeve of an evil old woman

  2. From a room hidden inside a tree

  3. As a reward for helping the King of the Dwarfs to cross a river

  4. From a tower whose door was visible only once in a hundred years
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

In the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, a witch tells a soldier to climb down into a hollow tree. Inside, he finds three chambers guarded by dogs with large eyes, where he retrieves the magic tinder box and gold.

Multiple choice general knowledge

In the happy ending of the story Beauty & the Beast, Beauty settles down to a life of bliss with the now handsome prince & his household, including her father & three brothers. The fate of her two wicked sisters is less agreeable, for they are:

  1. Transformed into living statues & set before the palace gate

  2. Forced to serve as scullery maids in the palace kitchens

  3. Changed into goshawks & fly away, never to be seen again

  4. Chained to a rock on a deserted beach, & left to starve
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

In the Grimm version, the wicked sisters are transformed into living statues and placed before the palace gate as punishment for their cruelty.

Multiple choice general knowledge

In one well known story from brothers Grimm, an old soldier is given the task of watching over a king's daughters each night. By feigning sleep he is able to learn that the girls:

  1. Are nightly transformed into birds & fly to a neighboring kingdom

  2. Spend each night dancing in an underground palace

  3. Draw drops of blood from their forefingers into a diamond bottle

  4. Are visited by an evil witch who forces them to sew for her
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Grimm tale 'The Twelve Dancing Princesses' features princesses who secretly dance each night in an underground palace, wearing out their shoes.

Multiple choice general knowledge

What happened to Pinocchio when he told a lie?

  1. He lost his voice

  2. He went to bed without dessert

  3. He was put in a cage

  4. His nose grew
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

In Carlo Collodi's original story and the Disney adaptation, Pinocchio's nose grows longer whenever he tells a lie. This is the most famous characteristic of the wooden puppet who wants to become a real boy.

Multiple choice general knowledge

"We need more of us... Much more..." was a dialog said by Smith. It indicates that he has turned virulent and malicious. How did he return after Neo killed him in the first part?

  1. Neo failed to killed him actually

  2. since he is the creator of matrix, he can return whenever he wants

  3. in the process of destroying him, neo actually freed him from the bounds of matrix and the programmatic constraints, thus infusing special power in him

  4. Both 2 and 3.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

When Neo destroyed Smith in the first film, he actually freed Smith from the Matrix's programmatic constraints, allowing Smith to return with enhanced abilities and no longer bound by the system's rules. This explains Smith's transformation into a more powerful, viral entity. Neo did not fail to kill him, and Smith is not the creator of the Matrix.

Multiple choice general knowledge

In Austria, when people clink glasses while making a toast,they must look each other in the eyes,Why?

  1. It is considered polite to know somebody's eye color.

  2. It is a game to see who can clink without looking at the glasses.

  3. There is no such concept.

  4. They are acknowledging each other's existense
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

In Austrian (and German) culture, making eye contact during toasts is important. It's considered a sign of respect and acknowledgment of the other person's presence. The custom stems from the idea of truly seeing and recognizing your drinking companion.

Multiple choice general knowledge math & puzzles

One day Alice meets the Lion and the Unicorn in the Forest of Forgetfulness. She knows that the Lion lies on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and tells the truth on the other days of the week. The Unicorn, on the other hand, lies on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, but tells the truth on the other days of the week. Now they make the following statements to Alice: Lion: Yesterday was one of my lying days. Unicorn: Yesterday was one of my lying days too. What day is it?

  1. Sunday

  2. Monday

  3. Friday

  4. Thursday
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

On Thursday, the Lion tells the truth; he says yesterday (Wednesday) was a lying day, which is true. On Thursday, the Unicorn lies; he says yesterday (Wednesday) was a lying day, which is a lie (since Wednesday is a truth day for him). No other day works.

Multiple choice general knowledge history

This brave young boy knew the secret of entering a 'chakravyuooh' or a battle formation based on encirclement but did not know how to get out of it. In the battle fought at Kurukshetra, he fought endlessly and when Guru Dronacharya saw that he was unbeatable, he ordered the Kauravas to break his bow and then smash his chariot from behind. Name this daring boy.

  1. Sahdev

  2. Prahlad

  3. Abhimanyu

  4. Brihannala
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Abhimanyu is the correct answer. He learned the secret of entering the chakravyooh (wheel formation) while in his mother Subhadra's womb but did not learn how to exit it. During the Kurukshetra war, he entered the formation and fought bravely until he was trapped and killed by the Kaurava warriors, following Dronacharya's strategy. The other options are not the character associated with this tragic story.

Multiple choice general knowledge

You have been called to the house of the wealth and famous actress Aishwariya-Rai Bakhan by your old friend Police Commissioner Rahul Gomez (Me!), there you find the actress has been kidnapped and only one clue is given to help find her - Its a poem which goes as "The Condor cries, the Owls do hoot, this train of thought is to give you a toot. The mind must cry as you look though the inner eye, this riddle must be making you cry. Now the bells do ring but I’ll tell you where she is, She is like a priest with no bliss. I think her husband she really does miss. I prey you find her soon, and if you have doubts ask the eagle to sing at the moon, this riddle is long and makes me quake, I hope I didn't convey to you a spelling mistake” You can narrow down the search for the actress from the clue given, where is she?

  1. The Actress has faked her own kidnapping

  2. in her husbands closet

  3. the Actress is in the zoo

  4. The Actress is held in a church
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The riddle points to a church through several clues: 'priest with no bliss' is a direct reference to a religious location, 'eagle' may symbolize America (national bird), 'moon' relates to religious timing, and 'prey/pray' wordplay suggests religious context. The actress is being held in a church.