English Reading Comprehension

The everyday observation referred to in the passage relates to

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

An earthquake comes like a thief in the night, without warning. It was necessary, therefore, to invent instruments that neither slumbered nor slept. Some devices were quite simple. One, for instance, consisted of rods of various lengths and thicknesses which would stand up on end like ninepins. When a shock came it shook the rigid table upon which these stood. If it were gentle, only the more unstable rods fell. If it were severe, they all fell. Thus, the rods by falling and by the direction in which they fell, recorded for the slumbering scientist, the strength of a shock that was too weak to waken him and the direction from which it came.

But, instruments far more delicate than that were needed if any really serious advance was to be made. The ideal to be aimed at was to devise an instrument that could record with a pen on paper the movements, of the ground or of the table, as the quake passed by. While I write, my pen moves but the paper keeps still. With practice, no doubt, I could, in time, learn to write by holding the pen still while the paper moved. That sounds a silly suggestion, but that was precisely the idea adopted in some of the early instruments (seismometers) for recording earthquake waves. But when table, penholder and paper are all moving, how is it possible to write legibly? The key to a solution of that problem lay in an everyday observation. Why does a person standing in a bus or train tend to fall when a sudden start is made? It is because his feet move on, but his head stays still.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (4). Annie’s life was filled with one _______ (4) after another. She was having an __________ (5) year. First, she lost her grandmother right before her sixteenth birthday. Next, she found out that her school did not have ________ (6) money to support the girls’ softball team. After that, her mother became sick and could no longer work; so Annie had to get a part-time job in order to support her mom and her little sister. Annie’s grandmother had told her that life would be full of ________ (7), but she did not think they would begin so early.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (7). Annie’s life was filled with one _______ (4) after another. She was having an __________ (5) year. First, she lost her grandmother right before her sixteenth birthday. Next, she found out that her school did not have ________ (6) money to support the girls’ softball team. After that, her mother became sick and could no longer work; so Annie had to get a part-time job in order to support her mom and her little sister. Annie’s grandmother had told her that life would be full of ________ (7), but she did not think they would begin so early.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (9). In ________ (8) Europe, the man of the house made sure that the fire was carefully _________ (9) so it would burn all night. In the morning, he would blow the glowing embers into flame again with a few ________ (10). If the fire went out, one of the children would be sent to a neighbour’s for hot coals.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (6). Annie’s life was filled with one _______ (4) after another. She was having an __________ (5) year. First, she lost her grandmother right before her sixteenth birthday. Next, she found out that her school did not have ________ (6) money to support the girls’ softball team. After that, her mother became sick and could no longer work; so Annie had to get a part-time job in order to support her mom and her little sister. Annie’s grandmother had told her that life would be full of ________ (7), but she did not think they would begin so early.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (12). Gerald looked around the room. He saw Lenny, _______ (11) in a corner, just like he always was. He was always standing in some corner, nearly doubled-over, looking like he had no backbone to support him. As soon as Lenny saw Gerald, he stood up straight. He knew that something was wrong. Lenny watched his face. He looked at Gerald’s cold eyes and then _________ (12) his gaze south. He saw something he did not expect to see, a smile that _________ (13) on Gerald’s face.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (10). In ________ (8) Europe, the man of the house made sure that the fire was carefully _________ (9) so it would burn all night. In the morning, he would blow the glowing embers into flame again with a few ________ (10). If the fire went out, one of the children would be sent to a neighbour’s for hot coals.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (11). Gerald looked around the room. He saw Lenny, _______ (11) in a corner, just like he always was. He was always standing in some corner, nearly doubled-over, looking like he had no backbone to support him. As soon as Lenny saw Gerald, he stood up straight. He knew that something was wrong. Lenny watched his face. He looked at Gerald’s cold eyes and then _________ (12) his gaze south. He saw something he did not expect to see, a smile that _________ (13) on Gerald’s face.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (13). Gerald looked around the room. He saw Lenny, _______ (11) in a corner, just like he always was. He was always standing in some corner, nearly doubled-over, looking like he had no backbone to support him. As soon as Lenny saw Gerald, he stood up straight. He knew that something was wrong. Lenny watched his face. He looked at Gerald’s cold eyes and then _________ (12) his gaze south. He saw something he did not expect to see, a smile that _________ (13) on Gerald’s face.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (8). In ________ (8) Europe, the man of the house made sure that the fire was carefully _________ (9) so it would burn all night. In the morning, he would blow the glowing embers into flame again with a few ________ (10). If the fire went out, one of the children would be sent to a neighbour’s for hot coals.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (5). Annie’s life was filled with one _______ (4) after another. She was having an __________ (5) year. First, she lost her grandmother right before her sixteenth birthday. Next, she found out that her school did not have ________ (6) money to support the girls’ softball team. After that, her mother became sick and could no longer work; so Annie had to get a part-time job in order to support her mom and her little sister. Annie’s grandmother had told her that life would be full of ________ (7), but she did not think they would begin so early.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (1).

My friend Travis is a nervous guy. I've known him since preschool. We were like two peas in a pod back then. That was before the peanuts incident. K.T. came to school with a can of peanuts. The first person she _________ (1) to share them with was Travis. K.T. was as pretty as a pansy, but I didn't like the glimpse on her face. She looked as ________ (2) as a fox slipping up on a baby chick. Travis took the can and _______ (3) the lid. Instead of peanuts, he got a face full of springing snakes! He _______ (4) and dropped the can. K.T. fell back on a desk, laughing like a hyena.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (2).

My friend Travis is a nervous guy. I've known him since preschool. We were like two peas in a pod back then. That was before the peanuts incident. K.T. came to school with a can of peanuts. The first person she _________ (1) to share them with was Travis. K.T. was as pretty as a pansy, but I didn't like the glimpse on her face. She looked as ________ (2) as a fox slipping up on a baby chick. Travis took the can and _______ (3) the lid. Instead of peanuts, he got a face full of springing snakes! He _______ (4) and dropped the can. K.T. fell back on a desk, laughing like a hyena.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (4).

My friend Travis is a nervous guy. I've known him since preschool. We were like two peas in a pod back then. That was before the peanuts incident. K.T. came to school with a can of peanuts. The first person she _________ (1) to share them with was Travis. K.T. was as pretty as a pansy, but I didn't like the glimpse on her face. She looked as ________ (2) as a fox slipping up on a baby chick. Travis took the can and _______ (3) the lid. Instead of peanuts, he got a face full of springing snakes! He _______ (4) and dropped the can. K.T. fell back on a desk, laughing like a hyena.

Directions: Complete the given paragraph by selecting the most appropriate answer from the given options and fill blank (6).

The army attempted to _______ (5) the enemy with a new plan of attack. Before the enemy ________ (6) what was happening, their forces became confused and frustrated. The army ________ (7) the battle and stopped the enemy's advance.