English Language

English Reading Comprehension

3,503 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.

Passage based inferenceParagraph rearrangementCloze test fillingVocabulary replacementReading accuracy tests

English Reading Comprehension Questions

Multiple choice
  1. it was his habit to dress well

  2. it was his wedding day

  3. he wanted to meet the manager of the shop

  4. he wanted to impress the salesmen

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

From the lines ‘the salesman had begun to doubt ……… treatment’, it is clearly shown that the customer wanted to register a complaint with the manager.

Multiple choice
  1. leaving the place

  2. fighting with the organizers

  3. making noise

  4. making the speaker ill

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The line, ‘after some time ….. shout and heckle’ shows that option 3 is the correct answer.

Multiple choice

As inferred from the passage, the author most likely to agree with which of the following proverbial expressions?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.
The existence of mammals on the earth can be traced back to at least the Triassic time. The rate of development was retarded, till evolutional change suddenly accelerated in the oldest Paleocene. This resulted in an increase in average size, larger mental capacity, and special adaptations for different modes of life, during the Eocene time. Further improvement was seen during the Oligocene Epoch, with the appearance of some new lines and extinction of others. The Miocene and Pliocene times are especially significant as they mark the culmination of various groups and a continued approach toward modern characters. It is in the Miocene time that the mammals reached their peak with reference to variety and size.
The ability of the mammals to adapt to various modes of life finds a parallel in the reptiles of the Mesozoic time, and apart form their greater intelligence, the mammals apparently have not done much better than the corresponding reptilian forms. Undoubtedly the bat is a better flying animal than the pterosaur, but at the same time the dolphin and whale are hardly more fish like than the ichthyosaur. Quite a few of the swift-running mammals inhabiting the plains, like the horse and the antelope, must excel any of the dinosaurs. Although the tyrannosaur was a more weighty and robust carnivore than perhaps any carnivorous mammal, the lion and the tiger, by virtue of their superior brain are far more efficient and dangerous beasts of prey. It is significant to note that various species of mammals gradually adapted themselves to various kinds of lifestyles, some took to grazing on the plains and were able to run swiftly (horse, deer, bison), others started living in rivers and swamps (hippopotamus, beaver), inhabiting trees (sloth, monkey), burrowing underground (rodent, mole), feeding on flesh (tiger, wolf), swimming in the water (dolphin, whale, seal), and flying in the air (bat). Human beings on account of their superior brain have been able to harness mechanical methods to conquer the physical world and adapt to any set of conditions.
Such adaptation to different conditions leads to a gradual change in form and structure. This is a biological characteristic of the youthful, plastic stage of a group. It is seen that early in its evolutional cycle animals possess the capacity for change, but as the animal progresses in its cycle becoming old and fixed, this capacity for change disappears. The generalized types of organisms retain increases the ability to make adjustments when required and it is from them that new, fecund stocks take origin-certainly not from any specialized end products. With reference to mammals, we see their birth, plastic spread in many directions, increased specialization, and in some cases, extinction; this is a characteristic of the evolution of life, which can be seen in the geologic record of life.
  1. It's a cruel world.

  2. All the world's a stage.

  3. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

  4. Footprints in the sands of time.

  5. A short life, but a merry one.

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The proverb goes with the theme of the passage, which talks about the evolution of different mammals over time.

Multiple choice

Among the following statements, which statement, if true, would weaken the argument put forth in the first sentence of Paragraph 1?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.
The existence of mammals on the earth can be traced back to at least the Triassic time. The rate of development was retarded, till evolutional change suddenly accelerated in the oldest Paleocene. This resulted in an increase in average size, larger mental capacity, and special adaptations for different modes of life, during the Eocene time. Further improvement was seen during the Oligocene Epoch, with the appearance of some new lines and extinction of others. The Miocene and Pliocene times are especially significant as they mark the culmination of various groups and a continued approach toward modern characters. It is in the Miocene time that the mammals reached their peak with reference to variety and size.
The ability of the mammals to adapt to various modes of life finds a parallel in the reptiles of the Mesozoic time, and apart form their greater intelligence, the mammals apparently have not done much better than the corresponding reptilian forms. Undoubtedly the bat is a better flying animal than the pterosaur, but at the same time the dolphin and whale are hardly more fish like than the ichthyosaur. Quite a few of the swift-running mammals inhabiting the plains, like the horse and the antelope, must excel any of the dinosaurs. Although the tyrannosaur was a more weighty and robust carnivore than perhaps any carnivorous mammal, the lion and the tiger, by virtue of their superior brain are far more efficient and dangerous beasts of prey. It is significant to note that various species of mammals gradually adapted themselves to various kinds of lifestyles, some took to grazing on the plains and were able to run swiftly (horse, deer, bison), others started living in rivers and swamps (hippopotamus, beaver), inhabiting trees (sloth, monkey), burrowing underground (rodent, mole), feeding on flesh (tiger, wolf), swimming in the water (dolphin, whale, seal), and flying in the air (bat). Human beings on account of their superior brain have been able to harness mechanical methods to conquer the physical world and adapt to any set of conditions.
Such adaptation to different conditions leads to a gradual change in form and structure. This is a biological characteristic of the youthful, plastic stage of a group. It is seen that early in its evolutional cycle animals possess the capacity for change, but as the animal progresses in its cycle becoming old and fixed, this capacity for change disappears. The generalized types of organisms retain increases the ability to make adjustments when required and it is from them that new, fecund stocks take origin-certainly not from any specialized end products. With reference to mammals, we see their birth, plastic spread in many directions, increased specialization, and in some cases, extinction; this is a characteristic of the evolution of life, which can be seen in the geologic record of life.
  1. It has been found that the tryannosaur had a larger brain, than was previously known.

  2. Within the next thousand years, mammals will become extinct.

  3. Recently certain forms of flying ichthyosaurs have been discovered.

  4. It has now been proved, that the tiger is more powerful than the carnivorous reptiles.

  5. It is now possible to double human mental capacity, by the use of certain recently developed computers.

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

 The tyronassour , which belonged to the triassic time was the least developed as per the statement ' The rate of development was retarded, till evolutional change suddenly accelerated in the oldest Paleocene'.

Multiple choice

As inferred from the passage, the largest number of mammals were found in which of the following periods?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.
The existence of mammals on the earth can be traced back to at least the Triassic time. The rate of development was retarded, till evolutional change suddenly accelerated in the oldest Paleocene. This resulted in an increase in average size, larger mental capacity, and special adaptations for different modes of life, during the Eocene time. Further improvement was seen during the Oligocene Epoch, with the appearance of some new lines and extinction of others. The Miocene and Pliocene times are especially significant as they mark the culmination of various groups and a continued approach toward modern characters. It is in the Miocene time that the mammals reached their peak with reference to variety and size.
The ability of the mammals to adapt to various modes of life finds a parallel in the reptiles of the Mesozoic time, and apart form their greater intelligence, the mammals apparently have not done much better than the corresponding reptilian forms. Undoubtedly the bat is a better flying animal than the pterosaur, but at the same time the dolphin and whale are hardly more fish like than the ichthyosaur. Quite a few of the swift-running mammals inhabiting the plains, like the horse and the antelope, must excel any of the dinosaurs. Although the tyrannosaur was a more weighty and robust carnivore than perhaps any carnivorous mammal, the lion and the tiger, by virtue of their superior brain are far more efficient and dangerous beasts of prey. It is significant to note that various species of mammals gradually adapted themselves to various kinds of lifestyles, some took to grazing on the plains and were able to run swiftly (horse, deer, bison), others started living in rivers and swamps (hippopotamus, beaver), inhabiting trees (sloth, monkey), burrowing underground (rodent, mole), feeding on flesh (tiger, wolf), swimming in the water (dolphin, whale, seal), and flying in the air (bat). Human beings on account of their superior brain have been able to harness mechanical methods to conquer the physical world and adapt to any set of conditions.
Such adaptation to different conditions leads to a gradual change in form and structure. This is a biological characteristic of the youthful, plastic stage of a group. It is seen that early in its evolutional cycle animals possess the capacity for change, but as the animal progresses in its cycle becoming old and fixed, this capacity for change disappears. The generalized types of organisms retain increases the ability to make adjustments when required and it is from them that new, fecund stocks take origin-certainly not from any specialized end products. With reference to mammals, we see their birth, plastic spread in many directions, increased specialization, and in some cases, extinction; this is a characteristic of the evolution of life, which can be seen in the geologic record of life.
  1. Triassic period

  2. Eocene period

  3. Oligocene epoch

  4. Pliocene period

  5. Miocene period

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

 It is in the Miocene time that the mammals reached their peak with reference to variety and size.

Multiple choice

It is clear from the passage, that the evidence used to discuss the life of past time periods _____________________.

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.
The existence of mammals on the earth can be traced back to at least the Triassic time. The rate of development was retarded, till evolutional change suddenly accelerated in the oldest Paleocene. This resulted in an increase in average size, larger mental capacity, and special adaptations for different modes of life, during the Eocene time. Further improvement was seen during the Oligocene Epoch, with the appearance of some new lines and extinction of others. The Miocene and Pliocene times are especially significant as they mark the culmination of various groups and a continued approach toward modern characters. It is in the Miocene time that the mammals reached their peak with reference to variety and size.
The ability of the mammals to adapt to various modes of life finds a parallel in the reptiles of the Mesozoic time, and apart form their greater intelligence, the mammals apparently have not done much better than the corresponding reptilian forms. Undoubtedly the bat is a better flying animal than the pterosaur, but at the same time the dolphin and whale are hardly more fish like than the ichthyosaur. Quite a few of the swift-running mammals inhabiting the plains, like the horse and the antelope, must excel any of the dinosaurs. Although the tyrannosaur was a more weighty and robust carnivore than perhaps any carnivorous mammal, the lion and the tiger, by virtue of their superior brain are far more efficient and dangerous beasts of prey. It is significant to note that various species of mammals gradually adapted themselves to various kinds of lifestyles, some took to grazing on the plains and were able to run swiftly (horse, deer, bison), others started living in rivers and swamps (hippopotamus, beaver), inhabiting trees (sloth, monkey), burrowing underground (rodent, mole), feeding on flesh (tiger, wolf), swimming in the water (dolphin, whale, seal), and flying in the air (bat). Human beings on account of their superior brain have been able to harness mechanical methods to conquer the physical world and adapt to any set of conditions.
Such adaptation to different conditions leads to a gradual change in form and structure. This is a biological characteristic of the youthful, plastic stage of a group. It is seen that early in its evolutional cycle animals possess the capacity for change, but as the animal progresses in its cycle becoming old and fixed, this capacity for change disappears. The generalized types of organisms retain increases the ability to make adjustments when required and it is from them that new, fecund stocks take origin-certainly not from any specialized end products. With reference to mammals, we see their birth, plastic spread in many directions, increased specialization, and in some cases, extinction; this is a characteristic of the evolution of life, which can be seen in the geologic record of life.
  1. was developed by Charles Darwin

  2. was unearthed by the author

  3. has been negated by more recent evidence

  4. was never truly established

  5. is based on fossilized remains

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

 Charles Drawin is not mentioned in the passage.  The author never mentioned that he came up with the findings. There is no negation of the existing evidence. We are left with option 5.

Multiple choice
  1. I only

  2. II only

  3. I and II only

  4. II and III only

  5. I, II, and III

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

 Irrespective of how small these differences might be, they are crucial, and the disequilibrium is maintained by air near the surface mixing with air higher up, which is typically appreciably cooler and lower in water vapor content.

Multiple choice
  1. resolve a controversy

  2. attempt a description of a phenomenon

  3. sketch a theory

  4. reinforce certain research findings

  5. tabulate various observations

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

 There are no findings,theory  or tabulation of observations in the passage.The passage basically wants to describe the fact that the very countries manufacturing deadly weapons strive not to use it. The passage describes this phenomenon.

Multiple choice
  1. the discovery of methods, which eliminate harmful microorganisms without generating drug-resistant bacteria

  2. attempting an explanation of the reasons for congressional inaction about the regulation of gene transplant experiments

  3. portraying a problematic agricultural practice and its serious genetic consequences

  4. the verification of the therapeutic ineffectiveness of anti-infective drugs

  5. evaluation of the recently proposed restrictions, which are intended to promote the growth of meat animals

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The author repeatedly talks about the restrictions, effects of drugs on agriculture and animals.

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the correct answer for the following question on the basis of the given passage:

The attitude the author has with reference to the development of bacterial strains that render antibiotic drugs ineffective, can best be described as __________.

Directions: Choose the correct answer for the following question on the basis of the given passage:

The Food and Drug Administration has formulated certain severe restrictions regarding the use of antibiotics, which are used to promote the health and growth of meat animals. Though the different types of medicines mixed with the fodder of the animals kills many microorganisms, it also encourages the appearance of bacterial strains, which are resistant to anti-infective drugs.

It has already been observed that penicillin and the tetracyclines are not as effective therapeutically as they once used to be. This resistance to drugs is chiefly caused due to tiny circlets of genes, called plasmids, which are transferable between different species of bacteria. These plasmids are also one of the two kinds of vehicles on which molecular biologists depend on while performing gene transplant experiments. Existing guidelines also forbid the use of plasmids, which bear genes for resistance to antibiotics, in the laboratories. Though congressional debate goes on as to whether these restrictions need to be toughened with reference to scientists in their laboratories, almost no congressional attention is being paid to an ill advised agricultural practice, which produces deleterious effects.
  1. indifferent

  2. perplexed

  3. pretentious

  4. insincere

  5. apprehensive

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The author is concerned and fearful about the future.

Multiple choice
  1. The air, which is closest to the ocean surface would get saturated with water vapor.

  2. The water would be cooler than the air closest to the ocean surface.

  3. There would be a decrease in the amount of moisture in the air closest to the ocean surface.

  4. There would be an increase in the rate of heat and moisture transfer.

  5. The temperature of the air closest to the ocean and that of the air higher up would be the same.

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

As the speed of wind increases, so does the turbulence, and consequently the rate of heat and moisture transfer.

Multiple choice

According to the above passage the author believes that those who favor the stiffening of restrictions on gene transplant research should logically also ______________________________________________________.

Directions: Choose the correct answer for the following question on the basis of the given passage:

The Food and Drug Administration has formulated certain severe restrictions regarding the use of antibiotics, which are used to promote the health and growth of meat animals. Though the different types of medicines mixed with the fodder of the animals kills many microorganisms, it also encourages the appearance of bacterial strains, which are resistant to anti-infective drugs.

It has already been observed that penicillin and the tetracyclines are not as effective therapeutically as they once used to be. This resistance to drugs is chiefly caused due to tiny circlets of genes, called plasmids, which are transferable between different species of bacteria. These plasmids are also one of the two kinds of vehicles on which molecular biologists depend on while performing gene transplant experiments. Existing guidelines also forbid the use of plasmids, which bear genes for resistance to antibiotics, in the laboratories. Though congressional debate goes on as to whether these restrictions need to be toughened with reference to scientists in their laboratories, almost no congressional attention is being paid to an ill advised agricultural practice, which produces deleterious effects.
  1. approve and aid experiments with any plasmids except those, which bear genes for antibiotic resistance.

  2. inquire regarding the addition of anti-infective drugs to livestock feeds.

  3. oppose the using of penicillin and tetracyclines in order to kill microorganisms.

  4. agree to the development of meatier live-stock through the use of antibiotics.

  5. approve of congressional debate and discussion regarding science and health issues.

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Though congressional dabate goes on as to whether these restrictions need to be toughened with reference to scientists in their laboratories, almost no congressional attention is being paid to an ill advised agricultural practice, which produces deleterious effects.

Multiple choice
  1. evolution does not favor the emergence of adaptive characteristics over the emergence of maladaptive ones

  2. any structure or behavior not positively adaptive is regarded as transitory in evolutionary theory

  3. maladaptive characteristics, once fixed, make the emergence of other maladaptive characteristics more likely

  4. the designation of a characteristic as being maladaptive must always remain highly tentative

  5. changes in the total human environment can outpace evolutionary change.

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

Yet beneath the overlay of cultural detail, they, too, are said to be biological in direction, and therefore as natural to us as are our appendixes. We would need to comprehend throughly their adaptive origins in order to understand how badly they guide us now.

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the correct answer for the following question on the basis of the given passage:

It can be inferred from the passage that after puromycin was perceived to be a disappointment, researches did which of the following?

RC Passage 6:
Few areas of neuron behavioral research seemed more promising is the early sixties than that investigating the relationship between protein synthesis and learning. The conceptual framework for the research was derived directly from molecular biology, which had shown that genetic information is stored in nucleic acids and expressed in proteins why not acquired information as well.
The first step towards establishing a connection between protein synthesis and learning seemed to be to block memory (cause adhesion) by interrupting the production of proteins. We were fortunate in finding a non lethal dosage of puromycin that could, it first appealed, thoroughly inhibit brain protein synthesis as well as reliability produce amnesia. Before the actual connection between protein synthesis and learning could be established however we began to have douche about whether inhibition of protein synthesis was in fact the method by which puromycin produced amnesia. First, ocher drugs, glutavimides themselves potent protein synthesis inhibitors either failed to cause amnesia in some situations where it could easily be induced by puromycin or produced an amnesia with a different time course from that of puromycin. Second, puromycin was found to inhabit protein  synthesis by breaking certain amino acid chain, and the resulting fragments were suspected of being the actual cause of amnesia is some eases. Third, puromycin was reported to cause abnormalities in the train, including seizures. Thus, not only were decreased protein synthesis and amnesia dissociated, but alternative mechanism for the amnestic action of puromycin were readily suggested.

So, puromycin turned out to be a disappointment. It came to be regarded as a poor agent for amnesia studies, although, of course, it was poor only in the context of our original paradigm of protein synthesis inhibition. In our frustration, our initial response was simply to change dregs rather than our conceptual orientation. After many such disappointments, however, it now appears unlikely, that we will make a firm connection between protein synthesis and learning merely by pursuing the approaches of the past our experience with drugs has shown that all the amnestic agents, often interfere with memory in ways that seem unrelated to their inhibition of protein synthesis. More importantly, the notion that the interruption or intensification of protein production in the train can be related in cause and affect fashion to learning now seems simplistic and unproductive. Remove the battery from a car and the car will not go Drive the car a long distance at high speed and the battery will become more highly charged. Neither of these facts proves that the battery power the car, only knowledge of the overall automotive system will reveal its mechanism of locomotion and the role of the battery with in the system.
  1. They continued to experiment with puromycin until a neuron anatomical framework was developed.

  2. They continued to experiment with puromycin, but also tried other protein synthesis inhibitors.

  3. They ceased to experiment with puromycin and shifted to other promising protein synthesis inhibitors.

  4. They ceased to experiment with puromycin but shifted to other promising protein synthesis inhibitors.

  5. They continued to experiment with puromycin, but applied their results to other facts of memory research.

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

'In our frustration, our initial response was simply to change dregs rather than our conceptual orientation. ' The conceptual orientation was to experiment with puromycin.

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the correct answer for the following question on the basis of the given passage:

The primary purpose a the passage is to show that extensive experimentation has ________________________________________.

RC Passage 6:
Few areas of neuron behavioral research seemed more promising is the early sixties than that investigating the relationship between protein synthesis and learning. The conceptual framework for the research was derived directly from molecular biology, which had shown that genetic information is stored in nucleic acids and expressed in proteins why not acquired information as well.
The first step towards establishing a connection between protein synthesis and learning seemed to be to block memory (cause adhesion) by interrupting the production of proteins. We were fortunate in finding a non lethal dosage of puromycin that could, it first appealed, thoroughly inhibit brain protein synthesis as well as reliability produce amnesia. Before the actual connection between protein synthesis and learning could be established however we began to have douche about whether inhibition of protein synthesis was in fact the method by which puromycin produced amnesia. First, ocher drugs, glutavimides themselves potent protein synthesis inhibitors either failed to cause amnesia in some situations where it could easily be induced by puromycin or produced an amnesia with a different time course from that of puromycin. Second, puromycin was found to inhabit protein  synthesis by breaking certain amino acid chain, and the resulting fragments were suspected of being the actual cause of amnesia is some eases. Third, puromycin was reported to cause abnormalities in the train, including seizures. Thus, not only were decreased protein synthesis and amnesia dissociated, but alternative mechanism for the amnestic action of puromycin were readily suggested.

So, puromycin turned out to be a disappointment. It came to be regarded as a poor agent for amnesia studies, although, of course, it was poor only in the context of our original paradigm of protein synthesis inhibition. In our frustration, our initial response was simply to change dregs rather than our conceptual orientation. After many such disappointments, however, it now appears unlikely, that we will make a firm connection between protein synthesis and learning merely by pursuing the approaches of the past our experience with drugs has shown that all the amnestic agents, often interfere with memory in ways that seem unrelated to their inhibition of protein synthesis. More importantly, the notion that the interruption or intensification of protein production in the train can be related in cause and affect fashion to learning now seems simplistic and unproductive. Remove the battery from a car and the car will not go Drive the car a long distance at high speed and the battery will become more highly charged. Neither of these facts proves that the battery power the car, only knowledge of the overall automotive system will reveal its mechanism of locomotion and the role of the battery with in the system.
  1. not supported the hypothesis that learning is directly dependent on protein synthesis

  2. cast doubt on the value of puromycin in the newer behavioral study of learning

  3. revealed the importance of amnesia in the neuron behavioral study of learning

  4. demonstrated the importance of amino acid fragmentation in the induction of amnesia

  5. not yet demonstrated the applicability of molecular biology to behavioral research

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

 The prinary urpose was to show that past research has not supported the link between learning and protein synthesis, however, the conclusion of the passage says otherwise.