Reading Comprehension plays an important role from the examination point of view. It carries 20 marks on the whole in English Paper I and II respectively. It is meant to test you how far you have learnt the language skills i.e.,
speaking and listening and the mechanical aspects of the language which consist of spelling, punctuation and handwriting. In short comprehension passages are intented mainly to test and improve your ability to read and
understand the language.
The passages given for comprehension are of two types: a) Unfamiliar (general) passages and b) Familiar passages asked from Supplementary Reader 1 and 2. Short and very short questions are given under the first type
and only short answer questions are given under the second type.
Always try to answer the questions briefly, and accurately, in accordance with the instructions given below the passage(s).
Model Questions: General Type-1: Passages followed by Short Answer Questions.
Read the following passage and answer the questions given below it.
In small primitive societies nobody needed money because everybody worked together and shared things, but in bigger societies people specialize. For example, one person spends all his time making pots and another spends all his time fishing.
The fisherman needs pots and the potter needs fish. So they exchange or barter. However, this system can become very complicated if, for instance, the potter wants ten fish but the fisherman wants only one pot. For this reason,
people began to use money. They agreed to take a valuable object, such as a shell, a stone or a piece of metal in exchange for what they were selling. They could collect the object and wait until they found something they really
wanted to buy. Gold and silver were often used as money because they could be divided into very small quantities and they were not damaged by water or air. Gold is especially valuable because there is not very much of it in the world
and it is expensive to take it out of the ground where it is mixed with rock.
1. What does the passage talk mainly about?
2. What is the 'barter' system?
3. What were the things used for money at first?
4. What are the two reasons why gold and silver were used as money?
5. Why is gold especially valuable as money?
Answers
1. The passage talks mainly about money, means of exchange and 'barter' system.
2. 'Barter' is a system of exchanging goods for other goods without using money.
3. At first, shells, stones or pieces of metals were used for money.
4. Gold and silver were used as money because i) They could be divided into very small quantities and
ii) They were not damaged by water or air.
5. Because gold is not easily available and it is expensive to take it out of the ground.
Type-2: Selecting Correct Statements Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
People who eat apples frequently are less likely to have heart attacks or strokes or to develop any of several kinds of cancer. The apple's pectin, a soluble fibre found just beneath the skin, can take some of the credit because it helps regulate cholesterol. The rest goes to plant chemicals called flavonoids. Fruits are also good sources of flavonoids, as well as fibre and minerals. Eating plenty of fruit is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, high blood-pressure and several cancers.
Fibre is another plus that fruits provide. In most fruits, some of the fibre is soluble, which lowers blood cholesterol and helps prevent heart disease. Moreover, most fruits are also low in sodium and high in potassium - a combination that lowers the risk of high blood pressure. Given below are six statements. Find out Four statements which are given in the text above.
a) People who eat apples frequently will not get cancer.
b) Flavonoids remove the cholesterol that pectin cannot.
c) People with high blood pressure should eat plenty of fruits.
d) If you peel apples thickly you will lose most of the pectin.
e) Flavonoids are a type of chemical found in plants.
f) People with high blood pressure should eat less sodium and more potassium.
Answers: c, d, e, f
Type-3: Multiple choice Read the following passage.
A few minutes ago, walking back from lunch, I started to cross the street when the sound of a coin dropping. It wasn't much but, as I turned, my eyes caught the heads of several other people turning too. A woman had dropped what
appeared to be a one rupee coin. The tinkling sound of a coin dropping on the pavement is an attention-getter. Whatever the coin is, no one ignores the sound of it. It got me thinking about sounds again.
It's the quietest sounds that have the most effect on us, not the loudest. In the middle of the night, I can hear a dripping tap a hundred yards away through three closed doors. I've been hearing little creaking noises and sounds
which my imagination turns into footsteps in the middle of the night for twenty-five years in our house. How come I never hear those sounds in the day time? I'm quite clear in my mind what the good sounds are and what the bad sounds
are. I've turned against whistling, for instance. I used to think of it as the mark of a happy worker but lately I've been associating the whistler with a nervous person making compulsive noises.
The tapping, tapping, tapping of my typewriter as the keys hit the paper is a lovely sound to me. I often like the sound of what I write better than the look of it. Read the questions and the choices given as answers. Write down the letter (a, b, c, d) of the choice which adequately answers the question.
1. The sound of a coin ......
a) makes people not cross the road.
b) makes people pay attention to it.
c) makes people look at each other.
d) makes people think of money.
2. How does the author relate to sounds at night?
a) He imagines sounds that do not exist.
b) He thinks nights are rather quiet.
c) He exaggerates quiet sounds.
d) He thinks people are walking in the house.
3. Which of these sounds, according to the author, is good?
a) Footsteps at night.
b) The wail of a police car.
c) A man whistling.
d) The sound of the typewriter.
4. How does the writer feel about sounds in general?
a) They make him feel at home.
b) He thinks they should be ignored.
c) He believes they are part of our lives.
d) He prefers silence to loud noises.
Answers: 1-b 2-c 3-d 4-c.
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