Reading Comprehension

The merchant told the boy the reason for his bad performance. It is because he did not ________.

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

How to be successful?
A poor boy lived in a village. He was very hard-working, but was not well educated. Because of this he was not able to get any job. In such a condition, once he reached a wood-merchant. Seeing the poor condition of the boy, the wood-merchant employed him and gave him the task of cutting wood in the forest. The boy was very excited because of his new job. He went into the jungle and on the very first day, he felled eighteen trees. The merchant also braved him. On getting this appreciation, he worked harder than before but he was able to fell only fifteen trees. The merchant only said, “No problem! Keep doing hard work.”
On the third day, he put in more hard work but he could cut down only ten trees. This made the boy unhappy because everyday he did more labour but was able to cut down less trees. At last, he asked the merchant, “Sir, I do hard work everyday, but the number of cut down trees is decreasing.” The merchant asked him, “When did you sharpen your axe last?” The boy said, “Sharpening! I get no time to sharpen the axe. I am always busy cutting the trees.” The merchant said, “That is it! That is why the number of trees cut down is getting less and less.”

Why did the beggar address the king as his brother?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

An old beggar reached the gate of the king’s palace. He told the gateman to go and tell the king that his brother had come to see him. The gateman thought that he must be a distant brother of the king. On getting the information, the king called the beggar in and offered him a seat near him. He said to the king, “Hello, older brother! How are you?” The king smilingly said, “I am very comfortable. How about you?” The beggar answered, “I am a little bit in trouble. The palace in which I reside, has worn itself out. It can fall anytime. I had thirty two servants. All of them have left me one by one. All the five queens have also grown old.

The story teaches us to be

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

How to be successful?
A poor boy lived in a village. He was very hard-working, but was not well educated. Because of this he was not able to get any job. In such a condition, once he reached a wood-merchant. Seeing the poor condition of the boy, the wood-merchant employed him and gave him the task of cutting wood in the forest. The boy was very excited because of his new job. He went into the jungle and on the very first day, he felled eighteen trees. The merchant also braved him. On getting this appreciation, he worked harder than before but he was able to fell only fifteen trees. The merchant only said, “No problem! Keep doing hard work.”
On the third day, he put in more hard work but he could cut down only ten trees. This made the boy unhappy because everyday he did more labour but was able to cut down less trees. At last, he asked the merchant, “Sir, I do hard work everyday, but the number of cut down trees is decreasing.” The merchant asked him, “When did you sharpen your axe last?” The boy said, “Sharpening! I get no time to sharpen the axe. I am always busy cutting the trees.” The merchant said, “That is it! That is why the number of trees cut down is getting less and less.”

Complete the following sentence.

Everyday, the boys cut down more and more trees. It is ________.

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

How to be successful?
A poor boy lived in a village. He was very hard-working, but was not well educated. Because of this he was not able to get any job. In such a condition, once he reached a wood-merchant. Seeing the poor condition of the boy, the wood-merchant employed him and gave him the task of cutting wood in the forest. The boy was very excited because of his new job. He went into the jungle and on the very first day, he felled eighteen trees. The merchant also braved him. On getting this appreciation, he worked harder than before but he was able to fell only fifteen trees. The merchant only said, “No problem! Keep doing hard work.”
On the third day, he put in more hard work but he could cut down only ten trees. This made the boy unhappy because everyday he did more labour but was able to cut down less trees. At last, he asked the merchant, “Sir, I do hard work everyday, but the number of cut down trees is decreasing.” The merchant asked him, “When did you sharpen your axe last?” The boy said, “Sharpening! I get no time to sharpen the axe. I am always busy cutting the trees.” The merchant said, “That is it! That is why the number of trees cut down is getting less and less.”

Complete the following sentence.

The king thought of appointing the old beggar as his advisor because _________.

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

An old beggar reached the gate of the king’s palace. He told the gateman to go and tell the king that his brother had come to see him. The gateman thought that he must be a distant brother of the king. On getting the information, the king called the beggar in and offered him a seat near him. He said to the king, “Hello, older brother! How are you?” The king smilingly said, “I am very comfortable. How about you?” The beggar answered, “I am a little bit in trouble. The palace in which I reside, has worn itself out. It can fall anytime. I had thirty two servants. All of them have left me one by one. All the five queens have also grown old.

In spite of doing hardwork, we remain sad because

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

How to be successful?
A poor boy lived in a village. He was very hard-working, but was not well educated. Because of this he was not able to get any job. In such a condition, once he reached a wood-merchant. Seeing the poor condition of the boy, the wood-merchant employed him and gave him the task of cutting wood in the forest. The boy was very excited because of his new job. He went into the jungle and on the very first day, he felled eighteen trees. The merchant also braved him. On getting this appreciation, he worked harder than before but he was able to fell only fifteen trees. The merchant only said, “No problem! Keep doing hard work.”
On the third day, he put in more hard work but he could cut down only ten trees. This made the boy unhappy because everyday he did more labour but was able to cut down less trees. At last, he asked the merchant, “Sir, I do hard work everyday, but the number of cut down trees is decreasing.” The merchant asked him, “When did you sharpen your axe last?” The boy said, “Sharpening! I get no time to sharpen the axe. I am always busy cutting the trees.” The merchant said, “That is it! That is why the number of trees cut down is getting less and less.”

Complete the following sentence.

The boy was putting in more and more hard work but the number of trees cut down did not rise because ______.

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

How to be successful?
A poor boy lived in a village. He was very hard-working, but was not well educated. Because of this he was not able to get any job. In such a condition, once he reached a wood-merchant. Seeing the poor condition of the boy, the wood-merchant employed him and gave him the task of cutting wood in the forest. The boy was very excited because of his new job. He went into the jungle and on the very first day, he felled eighteen trees. The merchant also braved him. On getting this appreciation, he worked harder than before but he was able to fell only fifteen trees. The merchant only said, “No problem! Keep doing hard work.”
On the third day, he put in more hard work but he could cut down only ten trees. This made the boy unhappy because everyday he did more labour but was able to cut down less trees. At last, he asked the merchant, “Sir, I do hard work everyday, but the number of cut down trees is decreasing.” The merchant asked him, “When did you sharpen your axe last?” The boy said, “Sharpening! I get no time to sharpen the axe. I am always busy cutting the trees.” The merchant said, “That is it! That is why the number of trees cut down is getting less and less.”

Which of the following is the opposite of “never”?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

How to be successful?
A poor boy lived in a village. He was very hard-working, but was not well educated. Because of this he was not able to get any job. In such a condition, once he reached a wood-merchant. Seeing the poor condition of the boy, the wood-merchant employed him and gave him the task of cutting wood in the forest. The boy was very excited because of his new job. He went into the jungle and on the very first day, he felled eighteen trees. The merchant also braved him. On getting this appreciation, he worked harder than before but he was able to fell only fifteen trees. The merchant only said, “No problem! Keep doing hard work.”
On the third day, he put in more hard work but he could cut down only ten trees. This made the boy unhappy because everyday he did more labour but was able to cut down less trees. At last, he asked the merchant, “Sir, I do hard work everyday, but the number of cut down trees is decreasing.” The merchant asked him, “When did you sharpen your axe last?” The boy said, “Sharpening! I get no time to sharpen the axe. I am always busy cutting the trees.” The merchant said, “That is it! That is why the number of trees cut down is getting less and less.”

Which of the following viruses is being talked about in the above passage?

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

Since December 2013, an ongoing outbreak in West Africa has infected at least 567 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, including 350 who died, according to the World Health Organisation. The outbreak appears to be the largest in history, surpassing the 425 cases that occurred in an earlier outbreak in Uganda in 2000.

The term 'materialism' as used in the passage means

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions by selecting the most appropriate options.

Recently, there has been a public outcry against bribery and corruption, embezzlement of public funds, the desire to get rich quickly and other vices. Indeed, all these vices are the bane of our society and should be eradicated from our system. There are many reasons why these vices are rampant.
Our social value is one of the causes. In this country, people value men and women who are wealthy irrespective of how they come about their wealth. It is not uncommon to see a man whom everybody knows, is into drug peddling but given respect by his kinsmen; all because he has money. The people do not care how he got his wealth; all they are after is his money. This encourages others to go to any length to possess wealth even if it means killing others.  They know the society would recognise them for their (ill-gotten) wealth.
Also, our leaders contribute to these problems. The wealth of this nation is not evenly distributed. For instance, a graduate whose parents spent a lot on his education looks for a job for years without having any, while at the same time, some highly influential men and women in authority are busy spending public funds recklessly. When finally the long jobless man gets a job, what can we expect him to do? When he suddenly gets to that post, he indulges in these corrupt practices also. In other words, our leaders do not set good example for others to follow.
Another factor responsible is greed and love for materi­alism. Many people want to have more than required , the desire to get many houses instead of one, many cars and in any case more than their neighbour has. This is greed, as you cannot use all these things at the same time.
Having mentioned all these causes, there is need for a change in our thinking so as to wipe away or eradicate these social ills.
Our value system must change - our society should place priority on honesty, dedication and hard work as the basis for promotion and recognition. Men and women of questionable character should be investigated and, if found guilty, should be punished. Also, there is need for con­tentment. People should be satisfied with whatever they have. Once the basic things and amenities are possessed or provided for - such as a car, house and a happy family, these people should be contented.
Lastly, the wealth of this nation should be spent and distributed wisely, without fear or favour. Once this is done, the present cry of marginalisation would be a thing of the past. Likewise, the leaders should lead by setting good ex­amples for others to follow.

According to the author, our leaders

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions by selecting the most appropriate options.

Recently, there has been a public outcry against bribery and corruption, embezzlement of public funds, the desire to get rich quickly and other vices. Indeed, all these vices are the bane of our society and should be eradicated from our system. There are many reasons why these vices are rampant.
Our social value is one of the causes. In this country, people value men and women who are wealthy irrespective of how they come about their wealth. It is not uncommon to see a man whom everybody knows, is into drug peddling but given respect by his kinsmen; all because he has money. The people do not care how he got his wealth; all they are after is his money. This encourages others to go to any length to possess wealth even if it means killing others.  They know the society would recognise them for their (ill-gotten) wealth.
Also, our leaders contribute to these problems. The wealth of this nation is not evenly distributed. For instance, a graduate whose parents spent a lot on his education looks for a job for years without having any, while at the same time, some highly influential men and women in authority are busy spending public funds recklessly. When finally the long jobless man gets a job, what can we expect him to do? When he suddenly gets to that post, he indulges in these corrupt practices also. In other words, our leaders do not set good example for others to follow.
Another factor responsible is greed and love for materi­alism. Many people want to have more than required , the desire to get many houses instead of one, many cars and in any case more than their neighbour has. This is greed, as you cannot use all these things at the same time.
Having mentioned all these causes, there is need for a change in our thinking so as to wipe away or eradicate these social ills.
Our value system must change - our society should place priority on honesty, dedication and hard work as the basis for promotion and recognition. Men and women of questionable character should be investigated and, if found guilty, should be punished. Also, there is need for con­tentment. People should be satisfied with whatever they have. Once the basic things and amenities are possessed or provided for - such as a car, house and a happy family, these people should be contented.
Lastly, the wealth of this nation should be spent and distributed wisely, without fear or favour. Once this is done, the present cry of marginalisation would be a thing of the past. Likewise, the leaders should lead by setting good ex­amples for others to follow.

Which of the following is greed according to the author?

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions by selecting the most appropriate options.

Recently, there has been a public outcry against bribery and corruption, embezzlement of public funds, the desire to get rich quickly and other vices. Indeed, all these vices are the bane of our society and should be eradicated from our system. There are many reasons why these vices are rampant.
Our social value is one of the causes. In this country, people value men and women who are wealthy irrespective of how they come about their wealth. It is not uncommon to see a man whom everybody knows, is into drug peddling but given respect by his kinsmen; all because he has money. The people do not care how he got his wealth; all they are after is his money. This encourages others to go to any length to possess wealth even if it means killing others.  They know the society would recognise them for their (ill-gotten) wealth.
Also, our leaders contribute to these problems. The wealth of this nation is not evenly distributed. For instance, a graduate whose parents spent a lot on his education looks for a job for years without having any, while at the same time, some highly influential men and women in authority are busy spending public funds recklessly. When finally the long jobless man gets a job, what can we expect him to do? When he suddenly gets to that post, he indulges in these corrupt practices also. In other words, our leaders do not set good example for others to follow.
Another factor responsible is greed and love for materi­alism. Many people want to have more than required , the desire to get many houses instead of one, many cars and in any case more than their neighbour has. This is greed, as you cannot use all these things at the same time.
Having mentioned all these causes, there is need for a change in our thinking so as to wipe away or eradicate these social ills.
Our value system must change - our society should place priority on honesty, dedication and hard work as the basis for promotion and recognition. Men and women of questionable character should be investigated and, if found guilty, should be punished. Also, there is need for con­tentment. People should be satisfied with whatever they have. Once the basic things and amenities are possessed or provided for - such as a car, house and a happy family, these people should be contented.
Lastly, the wealth of this nation should be spent and distributed wisely, without fear or favour. Once this is done, the present cry of marginalisation would be a thing of the past. Likewise, the leaders should lead by setting good ex­amples for others to follow.

Which of the following is a suggestion of the author to the public in general?

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions by selecting the most appropriate options.

Recently, there has been a public outcry against bribery and corruption, embezzlement of public funds, the desire to get rich quickly and other vices. Indeed, all these vices are the bane of our society and should be eradicated from our system. There are many reasons why these vices are rampant.
Our social value is one of the causes. In this country, people value men and women who are wealthy irrespective of how they come about their wealth. It is not uncommon to see a man whom everybody knows, is into drug peddling but given respect by his kinsmen; all because he has money. The people do not care how he got his wealth; all they are after is his money. This encourages others to go to any length to possess wealth even if it means killing others.  They know the society would recognise them for their (ill-gotten) wealth.
Also, our leaders contribute to these problems. The wealth of this nation is not evenly distributed. For instance, a graduate whose parents spent a lot on his education looks for a job for years without having any, while at the same time, some highly influential men and women in authority are busy spending public funds recklessly. When finally the long jobless man gets a job, what can we expect him to do? When he suddenly gets to that post, he indulges in these corrupt practices also. In other words, our leaders do not set good example for others to follow.
Another factor responsible is greed and love for materi­alism. Many people want to have more than required , the desire to get many houses instead of one, many cars and in any case more than their neighbour has. This is greed, as you cannot use all these things at the same time.
Having mentioned all these causes, there is need for a change in our thinking so as to wipe away or eradicate these social ills.
Our value system must change - our society should place priority on honesty, dedication and hard work as the basis for promotion and recognition. Men and women of questionable character should be investigated and, if found guilty, should be punished. Also, there is need for con­tentment. People should be satisfied with whatever they have. Once the basic things and amenities are possessed or provided for - such as a car, house and a happy family, these people should be contented.
Lastly, the wealth of this nation should be spent and distributed wisely, without fear or favour. Once this is done, the present cry of marginalisation would be a thing of the past. Likewise, the leaders should lead by setting good ex­amples for others to follow.

What, according to the author, would be the effect of the prevalent social values?

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions by selecting the most appropriate options.

Recently, there has been a public outcry against bribery and corruption, embezzlement of public funds, the desire to get rich quickly and other vices. Indeed, all these vices are the bane of our society and should be eradicated from our system. There are many reasons why these vices are rampant.
Our social value is one of the causes. In this country, people value men and women who are wealthy irrespective of how they come about their wealth. It is not uncommon to see a man whom everybody knows, is into drug peddling but given respect by his kinsmen; all because he has money. The people do not care how he got his wealth; all they are after is his money. This encourages others to go to any length to possess wealth even if it means killing others.  They know the society would recognise them for their (ill-gotten) wealth.
Also, our leaders contribute to these problems. The wealth of this nation is not evenly distributed. For instance, a graduate whose parents spent a lot on his education looks for a job for years without having any, while at the same time, some highly influential men and women in authority are busy spending public funds recklessly. When finally the long jobless man gets a job, what can we expect him to do? When he suddenly gets to that post, he indulges in these corrupt practices also. In other words, our leaders do not set good example for others to follow.
Another factor responsible is greed and love for materi­alism. Many people want to have more than required , the desire to get many houses instead of one, many cars and in any case more than their neighbour has. This is greed, as you cannot use all these things at the same time.
Having mentioned all these causes, there is need for a change in our thinking so as to wipe away or eradicate these social ills.
Our value system must change - our society should place priority on honesty, dedication and hard work as the basis for promotion and recognition. Men and women of questionable character should be investigated and, if found guilty, should be punished. Also, there is need for con­tentment. People should be satisfied with whatever they have. Once the basic things and amenities are possessed or provided for - such as a car, house and a happy family, these people should be contented.
Lastly, the wealth of this nation should be spent and distributed wisely, without fear or favour. Once this is done, the present cry of marginalisation would be a thing of the past. Likewise, the leaders should lead by setting good ex­amples for others to follow.

What does the author say about the champions of inequality in American society today?

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions by selecting the most appropriate options.

When Thomas Jefferson wrote in the American Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal', he was not seeking to describe men's endowments, but their political and legal rights. He was not saying that men do not differ from one another in the powers and dimensions of their bodies, minds and characters. He was asserting that, despite variations and differences, they all possessed the right to equal political and legal treatment. We must, however, ask of what real value are political and legal equality to a man who has no bread to eat, no clothes to wear, no roof to shelter him, no chance to earn a livelihood? What we understand as a democratic society must provide for its citizen's minimum status as a member of that society, that keeps him from becoming a beggar, outcast or outlaw and that offers him some protection in his deprivation, losses and fears.
In our times, the nations of the democratic world have installed elaborate systems of social security and welfare, ranging from compensation for industrial accidents to subsidised housing, unemployment insurance, old age pensions, psychiatric care and national health services. It is encouraging that the democratic nations are making a serious effort to provide against the characteristic losses and disasters of human life.