English Language

Reading Comprehension

7,656 Questions
All Explicit Fact Retrieval 2427 Inference and Logical Deduction 1147 Contextual Vocabulary Meaning 845 Main Idea and Title Selection 781 Cause and Effect Extraction 699 Synonym and Antonym Identification 692 Sentence Structure and Discourse Function 336 Author Tone and Perspective 194 Interpretation of Figurative Language 190 Passage Style and Organization 173 Pronoun Referent Identification 49

Reading Comprehension Questions

Multiple choice general knowledge

The pilot must either be familiar with visual references or be able to discover them from a map, aeronautical chart or nautical chart. Many nautical and aeronautical disasters have resulted from the pilot incorrectly identifying visual references. Poor visibility may affect safe navigation by obscuring the natural features used by pilots in an area. In such situations, pilots use navigational aids such as radar and the GPS to determine position and monitor their passage. Which pilot skill is talked about?

  1. Radar Navigation

  2. Pilotage

  3. Dead Reconing

  4. Radio navigation
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Pilotage is navigation by visual reference to landmarks. The passage describes pilots using visual references (natural features) and switching to instruments like radar/GPS when visibility is poor. Radar and radio navigation rely on instruments, not visual landmarks. Dead reckoning calculates position using course, speed, and time without visual references.

Multiple choice general knowledge

In the world today we make health and end in itself. We have forgotten that health is really means to enable a person to do his work and do it well. a lot of modern medicine and this includes many patients as well as many physicians pays very little attention to health but very much attention to those who imagine that they are ill. Our great concern with health is shown by the medical columns in newspapers. the health articles in popular magazines and the popularity of television programmes and all those books on medicine. We talk about health all the time. Yet for the most part the only result is more people with imaginary illness. The healthy man should not be wasting time talking about health: he should be using health for work. The work does the work that good health possible...... The passage suggests that

  1. health is an end in itself

  2. health is blessing

  3. health is only means to an end

  4. we should not talk about health
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The passage begins by stating 'We have forgotten that health is really means to enable a person to do his work and do it well.' This clearly establishes that health is a means to an end (work), not an end in itself. Option A is what the passage argues against, while option C correctly captures the author's central thesis.

Multiple choice general knowledge

In the world today we make health and end in itself. We have forgotten that health is really means to enable a person to do his work and do it well. a lot of modern medicine and this includes many patients as well as many physicians pays very little attention to health but very much attention to those who imagine that they are ill. Our great concern with health is shown by the medical columns in newspapers. the health articles in popular magazines and the popularity of television programmes and all those books on medicine. We talk about health all the time. Yet for the most part the only result is more people with imaginary illness. The healthy man should not be wasting time talking about health: he should be using health for work. The work does the work that good health possible...... The passage tells us

  1. how medicine should be manufactured

  2. what healthy man should or should not do

  3. What television programmes should be about

  4. how best to imagine illness
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The passage provides clear advice to healthy people: they 'should not be wasting time talking about health' and instead 'should be using health for work.' This directly addresses what a healthy man should and should not do, which is option B. Options A, C, and D are not discussed in the passage.

Multiple choice general knowledge

Corduroy is fast establishing itself at this year's fabric, While the ribbed cotton itself provides utilitarian tenaciary, texture and warmth. it is the fabric's long held associations may provide a hint to its current revival as a fabric for all seasons. It is Corduroy's link with the good breeding and country living that made it an essential ingredient in the gentleman's wardrobe along with Wellington boots and decent wooly. I combines the comfortable nonsense appeal of cotton with the perfectly correct luxury finish of velvet. Corduroy has the ability to appear either supremely sophisticated or rough and ready... Which one of the following best describes the passage?

  1. It tell us about the usefulness of corduroy

  2. It talks us about the virtues of corduroy

  3. It persuades us to buy corduroy

  4. It makes as understand the everlasting appeal of corduroy to the young
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The passage discusses various positive aspects of corduroy - its utilitarian nature, texture, warmth, historical associations with good breeding and country living, its revival as a versatile fabric, and its ability to combine comfort with luxury. Option B 'virtues' best captures this multi-faceted description of corduroy's positive qualities and characteristics. Option A is too narrow (only usefulness), C is incorrect (passage doesn't persuade), D is wrong (not focused on young people).

Multiple choice general knowledge

Corduroy is fast establishing itself at this year's fabric, While the ribbed cotton itself provides utilitarian tenaciary, texture and warmth. it is the fabric's long held associations may provide a hint to its current revival as a fabric for all seasons. It is Corduroy's link with the good breeding and country living that made it an essential ingredient in the gentleman's wardrobe along with Wellington boots and decent wooly. I combines the comfortable nonsense appeal of cotton with the perfectly correct luxury finish of velvet. Corduroy has the ability to appear either supremely sophisticated or rough and ready... According to the passage, corduroy is essential in a gentleman wardrobe because

  1. it goes with Wellington boots

  2. its current revival gives a taste of the latest fashion

  3. it has its associations with good upbringing and a conservative lifestyle

  4. it can be an idea alternative to the woollen clothes
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The passage explicitly states: 'It is Corduroy's link with the good breeding and country living that made it an essential ingredient in the gentleman's wardrobe.' Option C correctly captures this - associations with good upbringing (good breeding) and conservative lifestyle (country living). Options A, B, D are not supported as reasons for it being essential.

Multiple choice general knowledge

Which of the following caves find a mention in E.M.Foster's famous book A Passage to India?

  1. Barabar Caves

  2. Ellora Caves

  3. Ajanta Caves

  4. Bora Caves
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Barabar Caves in Bihar are mentioned in E.M. Forster's 'A Passage to India' as the inspiration for the fictional Marabar Caves where Adela Quested's incident occurs. Forster never visited India but used scholarly sources; the Barabar Caves, dating to the Mauryan period (3rd century BCE), were the model for the novel's mysterious caves. Ajanta and Ellora are famous for different reasons (Buddhist art and temples respectively).

Multiple choice general knowledge history

Who is the author of ‘A Passage to England’?

  1. Mahatma Gandhi

  2. Viveshwaran

  3. Nirad C.Choudari

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

Nirad C. Chaudhuri wrote 'A Passage to England' (1959), a travelogue about his impressions of England. Note the author's name has a typo in the option - should be 'Chaudhuri' not 'Choudari'. Mahatma Gandhi wrote extensively but not this specific book; the other options are not associated with this work.

Multiple choice general knowledge

There is clear evidence that the mandated use of safety seats by children under age four has resulted in fewer child fatalities over the past five years. Compared to the five-year period prior to the passage of laws requiring the use of safety seats, fatalities of children under age four have decreased by 30 percent. Which one of the following, if true, most substantially strengthens the argument above?

  1. The number of serious automobile accidents involving ...........children under age four has remained steady over the ...........past five years.

  2. Automobile accidents involving children have decreased ...........sharply over the past five years.

  3. The use of air bags in automobiles has increased by ...........30 percent over the past five years.

  4. Most fatal automobile accidents involving children under ...........age four occur in the driveway of their home.

  5. The number of teenage drivers has increased by 30 ...........percent over the past five years.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The argument claims safety seats caused fewer fatalities, but if accidents involving young children also decreased, the lower fatalities might just reflect fewer accidents overall. Option A rules out this alternative explanation by stating accident numbers stayed constant, so the 30% fatality reduction must be due to safety seats.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

A short passage or line of poetry.

  1. chorus

  2. paragraph

  3. verse

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

Verse refers to a single line of poetry or a short passage from a poem. A chorus is a repeated section in a song or poem, a paragraph is a section of prose writing, and a chapter is a larger division of a book.

Multiple choice

Modern warfare has changed from large scale clashes of armies to suppression of civilian populations. Chemical agents that do their work silently appear to be suited to such warfare; and regretfully, there exist people in military establishments who think that chemical agents are useful tools for their cause. Which of the following statements best sums up the meaning of the above passage?

  1. Modern warfare has resulted in civil strife.

  2. Chemical agents are useful in modern warfare.

  3. Use of chemical agents in warfare would be undesirable

  4. People in military establishments like to use chemical agents in war.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The passage uses the word 'regretfully' to express disapproval of chemical agents in warfare. The author criticizes those who view chemical weapons as useful tools, making it clear that their use is undesirable. Option C correctly captures this critical stance toward chemical warfare.

Multiple choice

Few school curricula include a unit on how to deal with bereavement and grief, and yet all students at some point in their lives suffer from losses through death and parting. Based on the above passage, which topic would not be included in a unit on bereavement?

  1. How to write a letter of condolence

  2. What emotional stages are passed through in the healing process

  3. What the leading causes of death are

  4. How to give support to a grieving friend
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The given passage clearly deals with how to deal with bereavement and grief after the tragedy occurs and not about precautions. Therefore, irrespective of the causes of death, a school student rarely gets into details of causes, which is beyond the scope of the context. Rest all are important in dealing with grief.

Multiple choice

The horse has played a little known but very important role in the field of medicine. Horses were injected with toxins of diseases until their blood built up immunities. Then a serum was made from their blood. Serums to fight with diphtheria and tetanus were developed this way. It can be inferred from the passage that horses were

  1. given immunity to diseases

  2. generally quite immune to diseases

  3. given medicines to fight toxins

  4. given diphtheria and tetanus serums
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Option 2 files the sentense, as they built up immunities which helped humans create serums from their blood.

Multiple choice

Modern warfare has changed from large scale clashes of armies to suppression of civilian populations. Chemical agents that do their work silently appear to be suited to such warfare; and regretfully, there exist people in military establishments who think that chemical agents are useful tools for their cause. Which of the following statements best sums up the meaning of the above passage?

  1. Modern warfare has resulted in civil strife.

  2. Chemical agents are useful in modern warfare.

  3. Use of chemical agents in warfare would be undesirable.

  4. People in military establishments like to use chemical agents in war.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The passage describes modern warfare's shift toward civilian suppression and mentions chemical agents as 'regretfully' suited to this purpose. The phrase 'regretfully, there exist people...' indicates the author's disapproval. Option C correctly captures this - the use of chemical agents is portrayed as undesirable/problematic, not merely useful or preferred.

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the following paragraph and answer the question that follows.

"The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat and it exerts tremendous control on our climate", [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows North to mix with warmer water from the tropics and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet, the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human activity.

What is the theme of the passage?

  1. The cold water of Antarctic Ocean is a ravage to human life.

  2. The activity of people in Antarctica is jeopardising a delicate natural mechanism that controls Earth’s climate.

  3. The cold ocean water around Antarctica is due to the dearth of sun’s infrared rays.

  4. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

On closely scrutinising all the options, we find that options (1) and (3) are contrary to the passage. Option (2) talks about the damage caused by people in Antarctica to cold water of the Antarctic Ocean, which sums up the idea of the passage. Hence, option (2) is the correct answer.

Multiple choice
Directions: Read the paragraph and answer the question that follows.
In descending the social scale in any modern industrial community, the primary fact -- the conspicuous leisure of the master of the household -disappears at a relatively high point. The head of the middle-class household has been reduced by economic circumstances to turn his hand to gaining a livelihood by occupations which often partake largely of the character of industry, as in the case of ordinary business man of today. But the derivative fact -- the vicarious leisure and consumption rendered by the wife, and the auxiliary vicarious performance of leisure by menials - remains in vogue as conventionality which the demands of reputability will not suffer to be slighted. It is by no means an uncommon spectacle to find a man applying himself to work with the utmost assiduity, in order that his wife may in due form render for him that degree of vicarious leisure which the common sense of the time demands.
Find the theme of the passage.

  1. The head of the household and their wives in any social scale engage themselves in unproductive skills and tastes.

  2. The middle and lower class wives are manifesting the prestige and position for the good names of the household and its master.

  3. Vicarious leisure enjoyed by the master and their wives is due to the number of their liveried servants

  4. Lower class wives are assisting their masters in fulfilling their duties towards their industrial heads and business mans.

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

Let's scrutinize the options:

(1) Head of the household are not engaged in conspicuous leisure (first statement of the passage gives the clue), hence, ruled out.

(2) This is the answer as it sums up the idea of this passage (clue is provided by the statement - “But the derivative fact --- slighted”) Options (3) and (4) are irrelevant according to the passage. Hence, they are ruled out and (2) is the answer.