English Reading Comprehension

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and then try to understand what it is about. Then fill in the blank (1) with the help of the alternatives given.

This may seem (1) ____, but there's one incident I've never forgiven her for. It happened one day when I had to go to the dentist. Mother and Margot (2) ____ to go with me and agreed I should take my bicycle. When the dentist had finished and we were back outside, Margot and Mother very sweetly (3) _______ me that they were going downtown to buy or look at something, I don't remember what, and of course I wanted to go along. But they said I couldn't come because I had my bike with me. Tears of rage rushed to my eyes, and Margot and Mother began laughing at me. I was so furious that I stuck my tongue out at them, right there on the street. A little old lady happened to be passing by, and she looked terribly (4) ____. I rode my bike home and must have cried for hours. Strangely enough, even though Mother has wounded me thousands of times, this particular wound still stings whenever I think of how (5) ____ I was.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and then try to understand what it is about. Then, fill blank (4) with the help of the alternatives given.

A hoard of Viking gold and silver artifacts, dating back over 1,000 years, has been discovered by a treasure hunter with a metal detector in Scotland, a find (1) __________ by experts as one of the country's most significant. Derek McLennan, a retired businessman, uncovered the 100 items in a field in Dumfriesshire, southwest Scotland, in September. Amongst the objects is a solid silver cross thought to date from the 9^th or 10^th century, a silver pot of west European origin, which is (2) __________ to have already been 100 years old when it was buried and several gold objects. The Viking hoard is McLennan's second (3) __________ contribution to Scotland's understanding of its past. Last year, he and a friend unearthed around 300 medieval coins in the same area of Scotland. "The Vikings were well known for having (4) __________ these shores in the past, but today we can appreciate what they have left behind," said Scotland's secretary for cultural and external affairs. The Vikings of Scandinavian origin made (5) __________ raids on Britain from the 8^th to the 11^th centuries. They buried their valuables for safe-keeping, which have gradually been discovered by generations of treasure seekers.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and then try to understand what it is about. Then fill in the blank (1) with the help of the alternatives given.

This may seem (1) ____, but there's one incident I've never forgiven her for. It happened one day when I had to go to the dentist. Mother and Margot (2) ____ to go with me and agreed I should take my bicycle. When the dentist had finished and we were back outside, Margot and Mother very sweetly (3) _______ me that they were going downtown to buy or look at something, I don't remember what, and of course I wanted to go along. But they said I couldn't come because I had my bike with me. Tears of rage rushed to my eyes, and Margot and Mother began laughing at me. I was so furious that I stuck my tongue out at them, right there on the street. A little old lady happened to be passing by, and she looked terribly (4) ____. I rode my bike home and must have cried for hours. Strangely enough, even though Mother has wounded me thousands of times, this particular wound still stings whenever I think of how (5) ____ I was.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and then try to understand what it is about. Then fill in the blank (1) with the help of the alternatives given.

This may seem (1) ____, but there's one incident I've never forgiven her for. It happened one day when I had to go to the dentist. Mother and Margot (2) ____ to go with me and agreed I should take my bicycle. When the dentist had finished and we were back outside, Margot and Mother very sweetly (3) _______ me that they were going downtown to buy or look at something, I don't remember what, and of course I wanted to go along. But they said I couldn't come because I had my bike with me. Tears of rage rushed to my eyes, and Margot and Mother began laughing at me. I was so furious that I stuck my tongue out at them, right there on the street. A little old lady happened to be passing by, and she looked terribly (4) ____. I rode my bike home and must have cried for hours. Strangely enough, even though Mother has wounded me thousands of times, this particular wound still stings whenever I think of how (5) ____ I was.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and then try to understand what it is about. Then fill in the blank (1) with the help of the alternatives given.

This may seem (1) ____, but there's one incident I've never forgiven her for. It happened one day when I had to go to the dentist. Mother and Margot (2) ____ to go with me and agreed I should take my bicycle. When the dentist had finished and we were back outside, Margot and Mother very sweetly (3) _______ me that they were going downtown to buy or look at something, I don't remember what, and of course I wanted to go along. But they said I couldn't come because I had my bike with me. Tears of rage rushed to my eyes, and Margot and Mother began laughing at me. I was so furious that I stuck my tongue out at them, right there on the street. A little old lady happened to be passing by, and she looked terribly (4) ____. I rode my bike home and must have cried for hours. Strangely enough, even though Mother has wounded me thousands of times, this particular wound still stings whenever I think of how (5) ____ I was.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage and then try to understand what it is about. Then fill in the blank (1) with the help of the alternatives given.

This may seem (1) ____, but there's one incident I've never forgiven her for. It happened one day when I had to go to the dentist. Mother and Margot (2) ____ to go with me and agreed I should take my bicycle. When the dentist had finished and we were back outside, Margot and Mother very sweetly (3) _______ me that they were going downtown to buy or look at something, I don't remember what, and of course I wanted to go along. But they said I couldn't come because I had my bike with me. Tears of rage rushed to my eyes, and Margot and Mother began laughing at me. I was so furious that I stuck my tongue out at them, right there on the street. A little old lady happened to be passing by, and she looked terribly (4) ____. I rode my bike home and must have cried for hours. Strangely enough, even though Mother has wounded me thousands of times, this particular wound still stings whenever I think of how (5) ____ I was.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First, read the passage over and try to understand what it is about. Then, fill blank (2) with the help of the given alternatives.

The stranger stood on the hilltop and (1) ________ the valley before him. Despite the familiarity of the scene, some things had changed in his absence. The small house where he had once lived with his mother and younger brother James lay in (2) ________ and other houses had sprung up beyond it. Cultivated land stretched where once there had only been hills and sheep. He began his journey down towards the small township, which seemed (3) ________ save for a solitary dog barking. Only the thin plumes of smoke rising from the chimneys (4) __________ that there was life in the houses. Then, he saw her. She was standing by the byre, a basket of peats balanced on her hip as she secured the door latch. As he approached, he saw that she was older than when he last saw her, and the first streaks of grey had appeared in her once raven hair. “Margaret”, he whispered, then (5) _________ her name louder as she turned and saw him. Her mouth fell open, as if she had seen a ghost, and she dropped the basket and let out a little cry.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First, read the passage over and try to understand what it is about. Then, fill blank (3) with the help of the given alternatives.

The stranger stood on the hilltop and (1) ________ the valley before him. Despite the familiarity of the scene, some things had changed in his absence. The small house where he had once lived with his mother and younger brother James lay in (2) ________ and other houses had sprung up beyond it. Cultivated land stretched where once there had only been hills and sheep. He began his journey down towards the small township, which seemed (3) ________ save for a solitary dog barking. Only the thin plumes of smoke rising from the chimneys (4) __________ that there was life in the houses. Then, he saw her. She was standing by the byre, a basket of peats balanced on her hip as she secured the door latch. As he approached, he saw that she was older than when he last saw her, and the first streaks of grey had appeared in her once raven hair. “Margaret”, he whispered, then (5) _________ her name louder as she turned and saw him. Her mouth fell open, as if she had seen a ghost, and she dropped the basket and let out a little cry.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First, read the passage over and try to understand what it is about. Then, fill blank (1) with the help of the given alternatives.

The stranger stood on the hilltop and (1) ________ the valley before him. Despite the familiarity of the scene, some things had changed in his absence. The small house where he had once lived with his mother and younger brother James lay in (2) ________ and other houses had sprung up beyond it. Cultivated land stretched where once there had only been hills and sheep. He began his journey down towards the small township, which seemed (3) ________ save for a solitary dog barking. Only the thin plumes of smoke rising from the chimneys (4) __________ that there was life in the houses. Then, he saw her. She was standing by the byre, a basket of peats balanced on her hip as she secured the door latch. As he approached, he saw that she was older than when he last saw her, and the first streaks of grey had appeared in her once raven hair. “Margaret”, he whispered, then (5) _________ her name louder as she turned and saw him. Her mouth fell open, as if she had seen a ghost, and she dropped the basket and let out a little cry.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First, read the passage over and try to understand what it is about. Then, fill blank (4) with the help of the given alternatives.

The stranger stood on the hilltop and (1) ________ the valley before him. Despite the familiarity of the scene, some things had changed in his absence. The small house where he had once lived with his mother and younger brother James lay in (2) ________ and other houses had sprung up beyond it. Cultivated land stretched where once there had only been hills and sheep. He began his journey down towards the small township, which seemed (3) ________ save for a solitary dog barking. Only the thin plumes of smoke rising from the chimneys (4) __________ that there was life in the houses. Then, he saw her. She was standing by the byre, a basket of peats balanced on her hip as she secured the door latch. As he approached, he saw that she was older than when he last saw her, and the first streaks of grey had appeared in her once raven hair. “Margaret”, he whispered, then (5) _________ her name louder as she turned and saw him. Her mouth fell open, as if she had seen a ghost, and she dropped the basket and let out a little cry.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First, read the passage over and try to understand what it is about. Then, fill blank (1) with the help of the alternatives given.

Mr. Keesing, the old fogey who teaches math, was mad at me because I talked so much. After (1) ________ warnings, he assigned me extra homework. An essay on the subject, "A Chatterbox". I'd worry about that later, I decided. I jotted down the assignment in my notebook, tucked it in my bag and (2) ________ to keep quiet. That evening, after I'd finished the rest of my homework, the note about the essay caught my eye. I began (3) _________ about the subject while chewing the tip of my fountain pen. Anyone could ramble on and leave big spaces between the words, but the trick was to come up with (4) _________ arguments to prove the necessity of talking. I thought and thought, and suddenly I had an idea. I wrote the three pages Mr. Keesing had assigned me and was satisfied. I argued that talking is a female trait and that I would do my best to keep it under control, but that I would never be able to break myself of the (5) _________, since my mother talked as much as I did, if not more, and that there's not much you can do about inherited traits.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First, read the passage over and try to understand what it is about. Then, fill blank (5) with the help of the given alternatives.

The stranger stood on the hilltop and (1) ________ the valley before him. Despite the familiarity of the scene, some things had changed in his absence. The small house where he had once lived with his mother and younger brother James lay in (2) ________ and other houses had sprung up beyond it. Cultivated land stretched where once there had only been hills and sheep. He began his journey down towards the small township, which seemed (3) ________ save for a solitary dog barking. Only the thin plumes of smoke rising from the chimneys (4) __________ that there was life in the houses. Then, he saw her. She was standing by the byre, a basket of peats balanced on her hip as she secured the door latch. As he approached, he saw that she was older than when he last saw her, and the first streaks of grey had appeared in her once raven hair. “Margaret”, he whispered, then (5) _________ her name louder as she turned and saw him. Her mouth fell open, as if she had seen a ghost, and she dropped the basket and let out a little cry.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First, read the passage over and try to understand what it is about. Then, fill blank (2) with the help of the alternatives given.

Mr. Keesing, the old fogey who teaches math, was mad at me because I talked so much. After (1) ________ warnings, he assigned me extra homework. An essay on the subject, "A Chatterbox". I'd worry about that later, I decided. I jotted down the assignment in my notebook, tucked it in my bag and (2) ________ to keep quiet. That evening, after I'd finished the rest of my homework, the note about the essay caught my eye. I began (3) _________ about the subject while chewing the tip of my fountain pen. Anyone could ramble on and leave big spaces between the words, but the trick was to come up with (4) _________ arguments to prove the necessity of talking. I thought and thought, and suddenly I had an idea. I wrote the three pages Mr. Keesing had assigned me and was satisfied. I argued that talking is a female trait and that I would do my best to keep it under control, but that I would never be able to break myself of the (5) _________, since my mother talked as much as I did, if not more, and that there's not much you can do about inherited traits.

Directions: In the following question, four statements are provided. These statements form a coherent paragraph when properly arranged. Select the alternative representing the proper and logical sequencing of these statements:

A. We speak of the silence of the grave, and without noise the world would be no better than a grave and to survive alone upon its lifeless surface would be to be buried alive. B. This is not to say that we never enjoy the awfulness of silence. C. Silence such as this keys up to unaccustomed excitements and susceptibilities. D. Travelers in the mountains among the snows can thrill us with their descriptions of the profound stillness of the scenes.

Directions: In the following question, four statements are provided. These statements form a coherent paragraph when properly arranged. Select the alternative representing the proper and logical sequencing of these statements.

A. Children exposed to these alien smells might lose control of their sense of smell and a dermatologist pertinently asks, Why shouldn't a baby smell like a baby?

B. A chemist thinks that these perfumes are not merely superfluous but even undesirable.

C. Some cosmetic companies are promoting their baby perfumes with En gulf, the new arrival in a soft and tender world.

D. These fragrances are designed for the very young, even babies, who are supposed to like fragrance compositions of tangerine, peach roses and vanilla.