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 techniques of style reading comprehension english

Cleopatra: Give me some music; music, moody food
Of us that trade in love.
Attendants. The music, ho!

[Enter Mardian]

Cleopatra: Let it alone; lets to billiards: come, Charmian.
Charmian: My arm is sore; best play with Mardian.

The passage mentions billiards which is a game that was not invented till centuries after Cleopatra's time. The passage contains an instance of

  1. allusion

  2. anachronism

  3. synecdoche

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

Anachronism is the action of attributing something to a period to which it does not belong. The game of Billiards does not belong to the period of Cleopatra. Thus, the answer here is anachronism. Option B is the answer.

Multiple choice history the industrial revolution industrialization and the growth of democracy china: two different phases industrial revolution industrial revolution and its effects

As to be firm land, we are certainly satisfied, and assur'd, that the Spaniards by their barbarous and execrable Action have absolutely Ten Kingdoms... which now lye waste and desolate and are absolutely ruined When as formerly no other Country whatsoever was more populous. Nay we dare boldly affirm, that during the Forty years space wherein they exercised their sanguinary and detestable Tyranny in these Region above Twelve Millions (computing Men, Women and Children) have undeservedly perished:nor do I conceive that I should deviate from the Truth by saying that above Fifty Millions in all paid their last Debt to Nature 
Those that arrived at these Islands from the remotest parts of Spain, and who pride themselves in the Names of Christians, steer'd Two course principally, in order to the Extirpation, and Exterminating of this People from the face of the Earth 


This passage was likely written by______________________.

  1. Christopher Columbus

  2. Bartolome de las Casas

  3. Ignatius of Loyola

  4. Matteo Ricci

  5. Roberto di Nobili
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Bartolome de las Casas was a 16th-century Spanish Dominican friar whose writings, such as A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, vehemently condemned the atrocities committed by colonizers against indigenous populations.

Multiple choice history the industrial revolution industrialization and the growth of democracy china: two different phases industrial revolution industrial revolution and its effects

If virtue be the spring of a popular government during a revolution is virtue combined with terror. Virtue without which terror is destructive terror without which virtue is impotent. Terror is only justice prompt severe and inflexible. It is then an emanation of virtue. It is less a distinct principle than a natural consequence of the general principle of democracy applied to the most pressing wants of the country.

 
This passage was likely written by ____________________.

  1. Abbe Sieyes

  2. Jean-Paul Marat

  3. Georges Danton

  4. Maximilian Robespierre

  5. Edmund Burke
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Maximilien Robespierre famously defended the Reign of Terror, arguing that virtue without terror is impotent and that terror is an emanation of virtue necessary to protect the French Republic.

Multiple choice history the industrial revolution industrialization and the growth of democracy china: two different phases industrial revolution industrial revolution and its effects

The following passage deals with absolutist principles  

And thereupon the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons, pursuant to their respective letters and electrons, being now assembled in a full and free representative of this nation, taking into their most serious consideration the best means for attaining the ends aforesaid, do in the first place (as their ancestors in like case have usually done) for the vindicating and asserting their ancient rights and liberates declare:
  • That the pretended power of suspending the laws or the execution of laws by regal authority without consent of Parliament is illegal:
  • That the pretended power of dispensing with laws or the execution of laws by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal...
  • That it is right of the subjects to petition the king, and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal;
  • That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament is against law.
    This passage is likely from

  1. The Petition of Right

  2. The English Bill of Rights

  3. The Magna Carta

  4. The Act of Supremacy

  5. The Habeas Corpus Act
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

This passage is likely from the Petition of Right. It is a major English constitutional document that sets out specific liberties of the subject that the king is prohibited from infringing. It was written  by Parliament as an objection to an overreach of authority by King Charles I. During his reign, English citizens saw this overreach of authority as a major infringement on their civil rights.

Multiple choice physics electric current, potential difference and resistance electric potential and potential difference potential difference current in electric circuits

The chemical reaction due to passage of electric current depends on:

  1. electrodes.

  2. magnitude of current.

  3. density of liquid.

  4. all of the above.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The chemical reaction due to passage of electric current depends on electrodes.
For example, during electrolysis of aqueous copper sulphate solution using platinum electrodes will give oxygen gas at anode.
On the other hand, during electrolysis of aqueous copper sulphate solution using copper electrodes will oxide Cu to Cu(II) ions at anode.

Multiple choice nationalist movement in indo china national liberation movements in the colonies recent social movements social movements in our time

Viet-Nam is far away from this quiet campus.We have no territory there, nor do we seek any. The war is dirty and brutal and difficult. And some 400 young men, born into an America that is bursting with opportunity and promise, have ended their lives on VietNam's steaming soil... We are also there because there are great stakes in the balance. Let no one think for a moment that retreat from Viet-Nam would bring an end to conflict. The battle would be renewed in one country and then another. The central lesson of our time is that the appetite of aggression is never satisfied. To withdraw from one battlefield means only to prepare for the next. We must say in southeast Asia--as we did in Europe--in the words of the Bible: ''Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further, his painful road'?  
The ideas expressed in the passage above are most consistent with which of the following American policies?

  1. The Monroe Doctrine.

  2. The Domino Theory.

  3. The Separation of Powers.

  4. The Search and Destroy Strategy.

  5. Mutually Assured Destruction.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Multiple choice nationalist movement in indo china national liberation movements in the colonies recent social movements social movements in our time

"Whereas these attackers are part of a deliberate and systematic campaign of aggression that the Communist regime in North Vietnam has been waging against its neighbors and the nations joined with them in the collective defense of their freedom now, therefore be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression."
The passage above is excerpted from which of the following?

  1. The Platt Amendment

  2. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

  3. The War Powers Resolution of 1973

  4. The War Powers Act of 1941

  5. The Teller Amendment
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Multiple choice zoology aids to health immunity and the lines of immunity immune system of the body immunity and blood groups
Read the passage and answer the following question.
Many mammalian cell membrane receptors associated with the immune system contain repetitive structures known as the immunoglobulin fold. Receptors containing even one of these folds are considered members of the immunoglobulin superfamily. 
Which of the following explains this common feature in different molecules?

  1. All of the genes that produce these proteins used to be part of a much larger gene that fragmented in the past

  2. All of the genes in question are retrotransposons

  3. Most of the genes in question are introns that experienced mutations that removed the splice sequence

  4. The fold was so successful as a signaling molecule that it encouraged its propagation

  5. The fold is repetitive because of gene duplication
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

Repetitive gene products are produced by gene duplication. A duplicated gene produces the same protein in multiple repeats. Retrotransposons can amplify themselves but are not necessarily present in multiple copies at the same chromosomal location. Introns are noncoding sequences. Proteins are encoded by genes only; they are not a product of encouraged propagation caused by relative success in the functioning. So, the correct answer is option E.

Multiple choice economics environmental economics acid rain air pollution - effects and control air pollution and its effects

Read the passage and answer the following questions.


Acid rain is formed after the burning of fossil fuels releases compounds containing nitrogen and sulphur into the atmosphere. Sunlight and rain bring about chemical reactions that convert these compounds into nitric acid and sulphur dioxide, which combine with water droplets to form acid rain. Acid rain typically has a pH of approximately 5.5. "The higher acidity of soil and water affects many living organisms adversely. As the pH of lake water falls, fish become ill and die. Table 1 shows the effects of pH on the size of adult fish.

pH of lake Average length of fish (cm)    Average mass of fish (g)
7.5 30 cm    454 g
7.0 28 cm  450 g
6.5 29 cm   453 g
6.0 25 cm    401 g
5.5 20 cm    288 g
5.0 17 cm   127 g
4.5 all fish died all fish died


Mycorrhizal fungi, which form a mutualistic association with many plant roots, are particularly sensitive to the effects of acid rain. These fungi facilitate the absorption of water and nutrients by the plants; in turn, the plants provide sugars and amino acids without which the fungi could not survive.
What might be the best strategy to prevent the death of the fishes?

  1. Stock the lakes with bigger fish so that they can resist the effects of the acid better

  2. Reduce the amount of fossil fuels that are burned

  3. Supply plants with excess phosphorus and water

  4. Supply fungi with excess sugars and amino acids

  5. Add alkalines to soil and water to neutralize the acid
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Acid rain is caused by burning of fossil fuels. By reducing the amount of burning of fossil fuel, which is one of the major cause of acid rain, frequency of acid rain can be reduced. Bigger fishes may or may not withstand the acidity. Supply of excess phosphorus and water may not benefit the plants as absorption of these substances by plant is not guaranteed. Likewise, supplying excess sugar and amino acid wont benefit the fungi. Adding alkaline might help but are not eco-friendly.

Therefore, the correct answer is option B.

Multiple choice economics environmental economics acid rain air pollution - effects and control air pollution and its effects

Read the passage and answer the following questions.


Acid rain is formed after the burning of fossil fuels releases compounds containing nitrogen and sulphur into the atmosphere. Sunlight and rain bring about chemical reactions that convert these compounds into nitric acid and sulphur dioxide, which combine with water droplets to form acid rain. Acid rain typically has a pH of approximately 5.5." . The higher acidity of soil and water affects many living organisms adversely. As the pH of lake waterfalls, fish become ill and die. Table 1 shows the effects of pH on the size of adult fish.

pH of lake Average length of fish (cm)    Average mass of fish (g)
7.5 30 cm 454 g
7.0 28 cm 450 g
6.5 29 cm  453 g
6.0 25 cm    401 g
5.5 20 cm    288 g
5.0 17 cm    127 g
4.5 all fish died all fish died


Mycorrhizal fungi, which form a mutualistic association with many plant roots, are particularly sensitive to the effects of acid rain. These fungi facilitate the absorption of water and nutrients by the plants; in turn, the plants provide sugars and amino acids without which the fungi could not survive.
If the pH of the soil was 7.0, then

  1. The fungi would survive but the plant would be harmed.

  2. The fungi would be harmed but the plant would survive.

  3. The fungi would be slightly harmed and the plant would be slightly harmed.

  4. Both the fungi and plant would survive.

  5. Neither the fungi nor the plant would be harmed.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

pH 7 is the neutral pH that does not harm plants and animals. Both plant and fungi will survive. Thus, the correct answer is option D.

Multiple choice inferences from the text reading comprehension english

Socrates believed that virtue is the outcome of knowledge and that evil is fundamentally ignorance. This is an early instance of the belief that the intellectual or rational is dominant in man and morally superior.

Socrates' point of view as described in the passage implies which of the following conclusions about evil people?

  1. They often dominate those who are morally superior

  2. They are unable to achieve complete self knowledge

  3. They are ignorant

  4. They are inherently virtuous but incapable of showing it
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Option C is the correct answer because according to the first sentence, evil is fundamentally ignorance.

Option A is incorrect because according to the statement the intellectual or rational is more dominant. 
Option B is incorrect because Socrates says that they are ignorant and hence have no knowledge. 
Option D is incorrect because Socrates doesn’t make a statement like this in the given passage.

Multiple choice inferences from the text reading comprehension english

Read the passage and answer the question given below.


There stood at the edge of the road an oak. Probably ten times the age of the birches that formed the bulk of the forest. It was ten times as thick and twice as tall as they are. It was an enormous tree, double a man's span with ancient scars where branches had long ago been lopped off and bark stripped away. With huge limbs sprawling unsymmetrically, with gnarled hands and fingers, it stood, an aged monster angry and scornful, among the smiling birch trees. This oak alone refused to yield to the season's spell, spurning both spring and sunshine.

"Spring, and love, and happiness", this oak seemed to say, "Are you not weary of the same stupid, meaningless late? Always the same old delusion. There is no spring, no happiness! Look at those strangled lifeless fir trees, everlastingly the same and look at me too sticking out broken excoriated fingers, from my back and my sides, where they grew, just as they grew; here I stand, and have no faith in your hopes and illusions".


The oak's attitude to life is ________.

  1. sceptical and disdainful

  2. cheerful but superior

  3. pessimistic and despondent

  4. bombastic and angry
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The correct answer for this would be option C, pessimistic and despondent. The speaker of the passage, the oak, has lived long enough to know that nothing lasts and has grown dispirited and cynical of the hope that the younglings have. Option A, sceptical and disdainful, is wrong because there isn't any indication of doubt or worthlessness in the oak. It knows its place in the world and the reality of it; the oak doesn't have any illusions about its existence and is sure of its beliefs. Options B and D are incoherent with the tone of the text, and thus, are incorrect. 

Multiple choice inferences from the text reading comprehension english

Read the passage and answer the question given below. 


This country now needs a new equilibrium, a new spirit of national reconciliation that can be brought about only by moving forward to the new frontiers of true equality, fuller opportunity and greater compassion for the weaker sections of its people. Our goal is total freedom for the people that can fully reflect their urges and aspirations for a better life. We cannot remain content by merely reliving our past even under the condition of complete freedom, without a matching concept of the present and the future. We can survive only by seizing every constructive opportunity that can offer a creative alternative to the legacies of the past. It is only through such a lofty endeavour that the country can discover itself with a new sense of adventure and faith in ourselves.

We cannot remain satisfied with the past. We should think of ____. 

  1. the present and the future as well

  2. matching the present with the past

  3. the past only

  4. none of the above

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

Option A is the correct answer. The passage speaks of building a better country, a better world, which can be done with the consideration of the future, without forgetting or foregoing the present conditions. Options B,C and D wrong because their statements are not supported by the text. Moreover, The author has emphasized the necessity of thinking about the preset and the future simultaneously, and not being confined in the past. 

Multiple choice inferences from the text reading comprehension english

Read the passage and answer the question given below.


It must be realized to make compulsory education a success, it is absolutely necessary to make it entirely free. India is a poor country and we cannot expect our people to pay directly for the education of their children. Even in rich countries like England and U.S.A. mas education is not only free but there are many additional facilities like mid-day meal for children, free medical service, and scholarship on a generous scale. Since education is a fundamental civil and human right and basic to the health of the body politics, funds must be found for the purpose whatever the cost of the scheme. If we consider educational and cultural activities to be important, funds will be forthcoming. What we have to do is to rearrange our priority. With this in view, we have to adopt a many-sided programme of national planning and economic and industrial reconstruction. If not there will always be arguments and statistics to prove that it is impossible to introduce free, compulsory and universal education in India.

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

  1. Free compulsory education is necessary for India.

  2. Universal education is free in U.S.A.

  3. Education is civic right.

  4. Education is necessary for a poor country.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

While the passage mentions the other three choices, it never once mentions option D and neither is option D conveyed by the tone of the passage nor is it implied in any other manner. So, we can conclude that option D is the required answer.

Multiple choice inferences from the text reading comprehension english

Read the passage and answer the question given below.


It must be realized to make compulsory education a success, it is absolutely necessary to make it entirely free. India is a poor country and we cannot expect our people to pay directly for the education of their children. Even in rich countries like England and U.S.A. mas education is not only free but there are many additional facilities like mid-day meal for children, free medical service, and scholarship on a generous scale. Since education is a fundamental civic and human right and basic to the health of the body politics, funds must be found for the purpose whatever the cost of the scheme. If we consider educational and cultural activities to be important, funds will be forthcoming. What we have to do is to rearrange our priority. With this in view, we have to adopt a many-sided programme of national planning and economic and industrial reconstruction. If not there will always be arguments and statistics to prove that it is impossible to introduce free, compulsory and universal education in India.

Why should we adopt a many sided programme of national planning and economic reconstruction?

  1. For making education popular

  2. For mass education

  3. For providing mid-day meals

  4. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The passage states that since education is a fundamental and civic human right, funds must be found to implement a scheme that would make it popular so that free education could be made a success. This is where a many sided programme of national planning and economic reconstruction comes in- it is the kind of scheme that needs to be implemented. So, we can conclude that the scheme is need to make education popular. Option A is the correct answer.