1.

Reading Comprehension-11
1. READING COMPREHENSION II
The Reading Comprehension section basically checks our understanding of English language,
word power and how well we can comprehend a given passage.
The Reading Comprehension part of the Verbal Ability section requires a good skill over the English
language and comprehending. Reading comprehension (RC) is the ability to read and understand
unfamiliar materials and to answer questions about them.
"Our focus while reading should be NOT to READ fast but to COMPREHEND fast."
Areas we need to focus for the Reading comprehension section In order to excel in the Reading
Comprehension section, we need to follow the certain guidelines. We should improve our word
power, should be able to read fast and comprehend fas t e r. Understand what is asked in the question
and an- swer appropriately.
The common solution to improve all these sections is reading. In order to improve on our RC and VA
section you need to broaden our background knowledge by reading newspapers, magazines, and
books. We should discuss one topic of the paper with our parents or friends.
Followed by our reading habit, we should also develop the habit of practicing a lot. Try to get more
practice in reading, particularly in reading dense materials fast.
Improving speed to solve Reading Comprehension. We need to manage our time while solving
exam paper. So even if it is a long passage, we cannot spend much time in the Reading
Comprehension section.Some pointers on improving the speed in reading the passages:
1. Focus on three to four main words in a sentence.
2. Time the reading speed and decrease the time we take to read gradually.
3. Identify main parts of the paragraph.
4. We can mark the important points/words/sentences .
5. While reading, move our eyes fast from left to right, focusing on min words.
6. After finishing an article, write the gist of that. This will help us know how much we
remember of that passage.
7. Write a summary of about 100 to 150 words every day on the editorial as it
Make a note of the. Difficult words. And find their meanings f r o m a S t a n d a r d English dictionary
will help in building thought process. Make a note of the difficulty words and find their meaning from a
Standard English dictionary. Try and maintain notebook/ prepare flash cards that we can go through in
our. free time
8.Time our self while reading. We should be able to read200 to 250 words in a Minutes time.
Directions: Read the following passage rid answer questions that follow:
PASSAGE- 1
Political independence came to Ceylon in a totally different manner than it did to Burma. In the case
of Ceylon there was no Japanese occupation, no revolutionary fervent and no sudden break with the
past. The colony did not even experience the sort of liberation struggle the Indian National Congress
organised. There was no civil disobedience or non-cooperation and no imprisonment of national
leaders.
As there was no struggle in Ceylon, neither was there the usual concomitant of a struggle, the
hardening of national solidarity through national sacrifice. Ceylon emerged from colonial rule
through a process of peaceful negotiations, but this was not an altogether unmixed blessing. An
essential element in the explanation of the unique way in which Ceylon achieved political
independence is the fact that the process of Westernisation had gone further there than in other
colonial territories. To start with, Ceylon had experienced nearly four hundred and fifty years of
colonial rule, first under the Portuguese, then the Dutch, and finally the British. From schools
founded and run by Christian missions - and in the British era more and more modelled on British

lines, even to the extent in some cases of emulating English public schools - there emerged a
thoroughly Anglicised upper class with generally conservative political leanings. These Ceylonese
were so much like their colonial masters in outlook, manners, and social habits that they were often
called brown sahibs, and negotiations between them and the British were almost in the nature of
dealings between gentlemen of the same club.
After the First World War, this elite group formed a Ceylonese National Congress, which it hoped
would grow in strength like its Indian prototype. But it collapsed a few years before the country
achieved independence. During the period of British rule, Ceylonese leaders felt no inclination to
make any radical or egalitarian appeals for public support and nationalism struck no roots among the
masses. It is no wonder, then, that the British felt that such men could safely be entrusted with even
larger instalments of political responsibility.
1. The Ceylonese struggle for freedom was characterised by
(a)civil disobedience
(b)revolutionary fervent
(c) terroristic activities on the part of the nationalists
(d) peaceful negotiations
2. What, according to the author, is the usual concomitant of a liberation struggle?
(a) National solidarity is strengthened through national sacrifice.
(b) It leaves much bitterness behind between the rulers and the ruled.
(c) It accentuates divisive forces in the polity that emerges after the grant of independence.
(d) People receive practical training in governance.
3. Political independence came to Burma after this country had experienced
(a) Japanese occupation during Second World War
(b) revolutionary fervent
(c) both of these
(d) neither of these
4. Before achieving political independence, Ceylon had experienced colonial rule for
(a) nearly one hundred and fifty years
(b) nearly four hundred and fifty years
(c) exactly three hundred years
(d) nearly a century
PASSAGE-2
In our country there is very little popular writing on science. Those who write are writing for other
scientists. The newspapers these days devote a little more space then before for scientific topics but
they appear to be rather ill-digested knowledge not written in simple readable language. So if we are
to bridge this gap and disseminate scientific knowledge and promote scientific temper, it has
become necessary for some of the scientists to turn to popularization. Today we have almost
compulsion for doing this if we are to convey to the people the meaning and relevance of the pursuit
of science. It is time same scientists enters the field of scientific journalism.
5. What does the passage suggest?
a. The author is fully satisfied with the role of newspapers in promoting popular writing on science.
b. The author is totally dissatisfied with the role of newspapers in promoting popular writing on
science.
c. The author appreciates the readiness of newspapers to allow more space than before to writings
on science.
d. The author condemns the attitude displayed by newspapers in the matter of promoting popular
writing on science.
6. Which one of the following is correct?

Popular writing on science in our country appears to be

a. not properly digested and easily comprehensible
b. extremely restricted in outlook
c. very lucid, intelligible and self explanatory
d. based on obsolete knowledge of the topics chosen
7. Which one of the following is correct?
The propose of promoting popular scientific writing in newspapers is
a. to attract more people to the study of science
b. to spread scientific knowledge and encourage scientific temper among the common people
c. to give the people information about modern scientific inventions
d. to help the newspapers to increase their circulation among the students of science
8. The author wants some of the scientists to turn to popularization. What does that imply?
a. The scientists should go round and country and explain to the people the various achievements of
science
b. The scientists should make use of the television and radio to spread the message of science
among the common people
c. The scientists should write in newspapers about the various aspects of science in easily
understandable language.
d. The scientists should seek the help of social organizations to spread scientific knowledge among
the common people.
Passage-3
Fungi form an isolated group within the plant kingdom and indeed are regarded by
many as forming a separate kingdom of their own. They differ from all other plants
by their lack of the green pigment chlorophyll, in the construction of thread-like units
known as hyphae and their method of reproduction.
Reproduction occurs by spores either of sexual or asexual origin. The spore
germinates, sending out a germ-tube that elongates to produce a thread- like,
usually septet, filament that then branches out repeatedly. By continued
ramification these threads or hyphae (singular hypha) form a cobweb or felt- like
sheet known as mycelium. In most instances, fusion between two hyphae, usually
from different mycelia, must occur before a fruit-body can be produced. Even then
this process will only take place given the correct climatic factors and sufficient food
supply. Fungi differ from the higher plant forms 1by the absence of the green pigment
chlorophyll, which enables plants to photosynthesize. By this process green plants
are able to obtain their carbohydrates; the chlorophyll in their leaves f i x e s
atmospheric carbon dioxide in the presence of sunlight and water to manufacture
sugar for their nutrition. As fungi are unable to do this they have t o obtain their
carbohydrates from decomposed animal or plant tissues. Hence they are found in
habitats rich in rotting vegetation such as woodland, grassland, compost heaps,
sawdust piles, on dung or manure heaps and on burnt ground colonized by
moss. Fungi obtaining their food from these sources are known as saprophytes;
others obtaining their food materials directly from living plants or animals are
known as parasites. Examples of parasitic fungi on trees and herbaceous plants are
the woody bracket fungi and mildews respectively; diseases of man such as athlete's
foot, ringworm and farmer's lung are also caused by parasitic fungi.
9. Consider the following statements :
Fungi grow on rooting vegetation or animal because

1. they cannot produce their own food.

2. this provides them with the food they need.
Which of the statements given above is/are
(A) 1 only
(B) 2 only
(C) Both 1 and 2 (D) Neither 1 nor 2
10. What are fungi ?
(A) Cells
(B) Plants
(C) Animals
(D) Dead matter
11. Consider the following statements
(1)Fungi are the green pigment called chlorophyll.
(2)All plants other than fungi have chlorophyll.
Which of the statements given above is/are
(A) 1only
(B) 2 only
(C) Both 1 and 2 (D) Neither 1 nor 2
12.Consider the following statements :
1. A mycelium is another name for chlorophyll.
2. Fungi obtain carbohydrates from decomposed animals.
Which of the statements given below is/are correct?
A) 1only
(B) 2 only
(C) Both 1 and 2 (D) Neither 1 nor 2
13. How do fungi reproduce ?
(A) They reproduce from sees.
(B) They reproduce through photosynthesis
(C) They reproduce through saprophytes .
(D)Their reproduction occurs by spores either of sexual or a sexual.
14. Consider the following statements :
Sugar cannot be produced by plants unless
chlorophyll is present. 2. sunlight, water and carbon dioxide are present.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(A) 1only
(B) 2 only
(C) Both 1 and 2
(D) Neither 1 nor 2
Passage-4
Education, the most crucial investment in human development, is an instrument for developing an
economically prosperous society and for ensuring equity and social justice. A holistic view was taken
in 1986 when the National Policy on Education (NPE) visualised education as a dynamic, cumulative,
life long process, providing diversity of learning opportunities to all segments of society. The Prime
Ministers Special Action Plan (SAP) has stressed the need for expansion and improvement of social
infrastructure in the field of education. The government has accorded high priority to education, the
main facets of which are :
total eradication of illiteracy gradually increase the governmental and non-governmental
spending on
education up to 6 per cent of the GDP implementation of the Constitutional provision of making
primary education free and compulsory up to V standard
move towards equal access to and opportunity of educational standards up to the school-leaving
stage
improve the quality of education at all levelsfrom primary schools to universities.
15. Which one of the following statements is correct ?
(a)Equity and social justice can be achieved only through industrial development in the
country.

(b)There is a Constitutional provision for free and compulsory primary education

(c) The government spends up to about 6% of GOP on education .
(d) The Prime Minister's SAP has stressed on the reservation for SC/ST students in the universities
.
16. Which one of the following statements is correct ?
The National Policy on Education has taken cognizance
(a) poor quality of a large number of newly set up universities.
(b) poor teacher/student ratio in the primary schools
(c) of the wide array of learning opportunities which educa.tion society.
(d) of the need to provide vocational education .
17. Which one of the following statements is correct
The governmentt, in its education policy, has stressed
(A) On distance education
(B) On e-learning
(C) On role of private sector in education
(D) On access of education to all sections of society
18 .Which of the following statements is correct?
(A) NPEs approach to education,
(B) prescribes a proactive role for the UGC
(C) views its dynamic and continuous process
(D) emphasizes of learning of English because of globalisation is based on premise that
education can be effectively imparted only up to 21 years of age.
Passage-5
Lunar objects are well suited for observation when the sunlight falls upon them in such a manner as
to exhibit strongly contrasted lights and shadows. It is impossible to observe the moon satisfactorily
when is full, for then no conspicuous shadows are cast. mountain peaks on the moon throw long,
well shadows, characterised by a sharpness which do not find in the shadows of terrestrial objects.
difference between the two arises from the absence on the moon. Our atmosphere diffuses a
certain of light, which mitigates the blackness of shadows and tends to soften their outline. such
influences are at work on the moon and the of the shadows is taken advantage of in our to measure
the heights of lunar mountains
19. Objects on the moon can be observed well
(A) when sunlight falls on them
(B) at any time of the day
(C) when light and shadows create a contrast
(D) only on a full-moon night
20. A comparison between the shadows of lunar objects and those of the earth shows that
(A) they are more or less similar
(B) the shadows of lunar objects are sharper
(C) the shadows of turrets Hal objects are sharper
(D) the shadows of lunar objects are not well defined
21. Thu difference between the two types of shadows is due to the fact that
(A) there is no air on the moon
(B) air creates sharper shadows of earthly objects
(C) the atmosphere of the moon intensihles the shadows of its objects
(D) more sunlight reaches the surface of the earth than that of the moon

22. The atmosphere surrounding the earth

(A) traps the sunlight thus intensifying its shadows
(B) scatters the sunlight thus intensifying its shadows
(C) dissipates the sunlight thus reducing the darkness of its shadows
(D) has no distinct function in reducing the darkness of its shadows
Passage-6
Some religious teachers have taught that Man is made up of a body and a soul: But they have been
silent about the Intellect. Their followers try to feed the body on earth and to save soul from
perdition after death: But they neglected the claims of the mind. Bread for the body and Virtue for
the soul: These are regarded as the indispensable requisites of human welfare here and hereafter.
Nothing is said about knowledge and education. Thus Jesus Christ spoke much of feeding the hungry,
healing the sick, and converting the sinners: But he never taught the duty of teaching the ignorant
and increasing scientific knowledge. He himself was not a well-educated man, and intellectual
pursuits were beyond his horizon. Gautam Buddha also laid stress on morality, meditation and
asceticism, but he did not attach great importance to history, science, art or literature. St. Ambrose
deprecated scientific studies and wrote, Tel discuss the nature and position of the earth does not
help us in our hope for life to come. St. Basil said very frankly and foolishly, It is not a matter of
interest for us whether the earth is a sphere or a cylinder or disc. Thomas Carlyle also followed the
Christian traditions when he declared that he honoured only two men and no third: The manual
labour and the religious teacher. He forgot the scientist, the scholar and the artist. The cynics of
Greece despised education at last?
23. What have the religious teachers taught in the past?
(a) That man is made up of body only
(b). That man is made up of soul only.
(c). That man is made up of bubbles
(d). That man is made up of body and soul together
24. What is food for the soul?
(a). Bread
(b). Virtue
(c). Vice
(d). Education
25.The following philosophers occur in the passage. But they are not in correct order. Correct the
order (l). Jesus Christ (II). Gautam Buddha (III) St. Ambrose (IV). Thomas Carlyle M St. Basil
(a). I, II, III, IV, V
(b). I, III, IV, V, II
(c). I, II, III, V, IV
(d). II, I, III, IV, V
26. Intellectual pursuits have been neglected because: (I) they are unnecessary and superfluous (II)
they make people dwarf (III) they lead people to hell
(a). Only I is correct
(b). Only II is correct
(c). Only III is correct
(d). Only I and II are correct
27.The style of the passage is
(a).narrative
(b).expository
(c).critical
(d).Analytical

Answers:
Sol 1. (C) Terroristic activities on the part of the nationalists
Sol 2. (C) It accentuates divisive forces in the polity that emerges after the grant of independence.
Sol 3. (C) Both of these
Sol 4. (A) Nearly one hundred and fifty years
Sol 5. (C) The author appreciates the readiness of newspapers to allow more space than before to
writings on science.
Sol 6. (A). not properly digested and easily comprehensible
Sol 7. (B) To spread scientific knowledge and encourage scientific temper among the common
people
Sol 8. (C) The scientists should write in newspapers about the various aspects of science in easily
understandable language.
Sol 9. (C) Both 1 and 2
Sol 10. (B) Plants
Sol 11. (B) 2 only
Sol 12. (B) Fungi obtain carbohydrates from decomposed animals.
Sol 13. (D) Their reproduction occurs by spores either of sexual or a sexual.
Sol 14. (C) Both 1 and 2