reading-comprehension

Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension: English Reading Comprehension Exercises with Answers, Sample Passages for Reading Comprehension Test for GRE, CAT, IELTS preparation

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English Reading Comprehension Test Questions and Answers. Improve your ability to read and comprehend English Passages

Q111. > Civilisation, so far, has not succeeded, in creating an environment > suitable to mental and moral activities of mankind. The low > intellectual and spiritual value of most human beings is largely due > to deficiencies of their psychological atmosphere. The supremacy of > matter and the dogmas of industrial religion have destroyed culture, > beauty and morals. The immense spread of newspapers, cheap literature, > radios and cinemas has contributed only to the degeneration of > culture. Unintelligent is becoming more and more general, in spite of > the course given in schools, colleges and universities. School > children and students form their minds on the silly programmes of > public entertainment. Social environment, instead of favouring the > growth of intelligence, opposes it with all its might. > > Moral sense is almost completely ignored by modern society. We have, > in fact, suppressed its manifestation. All are imbued with > irresponsibility. Those who discern good and evil, who are industrious > and provident, remain poor and are looked upon as morose. The woman > who has several children, who devotes herself to their education > instead of to her own career, is considered weak-minded. If a man > saves a little money for his wife and the education of his children, > this money is stolen from him by enterprising financiers or taken by > the Government and distributed to those who have been reduced to want > by their own improvidence and the short-sightedness of manufacturers, > bankers and economists. Artists and men of science supply the > community with beauty, health and wealth. They live and die in > poverty. Robbers enjoy prosperity and peace. Gangsters are protected > by politicians and respected by judges. They are the heroes whom > children admire at the cinema and imitate in their games. A rich man > has every right. He may discard his aging wife, abandon his old mother > to penury, rob those who have entrusted their money to him, without > losing the consideration of his friends. Sexual morals have been cast > aside. Psychoanalysts supervise men and women in their conjugal > relations. There is no difference between wrong and right, just and > unjust. No one makes any objection to their presence. Ministers have > rationalised religion. They have destroyed its mystical basis. But > they do not succeed in attracting modern men. In their half-empty > churches, they vainly preach a weak morality. They are content with > the part of policemen, helping in the interest of the wealthy to > preserve the framework of present society. Or, like politicians, they > flatter the appetites of the crowd. > > Men are powerless against such psychological attacks. They necessarily > yield to the influence of their group. If one lives in the company of > fools or criminals, one becomes a fool or criminal. Isolation is the > only hope of salvation. But where will the inhabitants of the new city > find solitude? Said Marcus Aurelius, ‘No retreat is more peaceful or > less troubled than that encountered by man in his own soul.’ But we > are not capable of such an effort. We cannot fight out social > surroundings victoriously. The author thinks that in the modern civilisation

  1.  the gangsters have grown up in large numbers.
  2.  the society is out to fight against gangsters.
  3.  gangsters enjoy protection and respect from those in power and the courts.
  4.  gangsterism has become a profession.
  5.  None of these

Solution : gangsters enjoy protection and respect from those in power and the courts.
Q112. > Civilisation, so far, has not succeeded, in creating an environment > suitable to mental and moral activities of mankind. The low > intellectual and spiritual value of most human beings is largely due > to deficiencies of their psychological atmosphere. The supremacy of > matter and the dogmas of industrial religion have destroyed culture, > beauty and morals. The immense spread of newspapers, cheap literature, > radios and cinemas has contributed only to the degeneration of > culture. Unintelligent is becoming more and more general, in spite of > the course given in schools, colleges and universities. School > children and students form their minds on the silly programmes of > public entertainment. Social environment, instead of favouring the > growth of intelligence, opposes it with all its might. > > Moral sense is almost completely ignored by modern society. We have, > in fact, suppressed its manifestation. All are imbued with > irresponsibility. Those who discern good and evil, who are industrious > and provident, remain poor and are looked upon as morose. The woman > who has several children, who devotes herself to their education > instead of to her own career, is considered weak-minded. If a man > saves a little money for his wife and the education of his children, > this money is stolen from him by enterprising financiers or taken by > the Government and distributed to those who have been reduced to want > by their own improvidence and the short-sightedness of manufacturers, > bankers and economists. Artists and men of science supply the > community with beauty, health and wealth. They live and die in > poverty. Robbers enjoy prosperity and peace. Gangsters are protected > by politicians and respected by judges. They are the heroes whom > children admire at the cinema and imitate in their games. A rich man > has every right. He may discard his aging wife, abandon his old mother > to penury, rob those who have entrusted their money to him, without > losing the consideration of his friends. Sexual morals have been cast > aside. Psychoanalysts supervise men and women in their conjugal > relations. There is no difference between wrong and right, just and > unjust. No one makes any objection to their presence. Ministers have > rationalised religion. They have destroyed its mystical basis. But > they do not succeed in attracting modern men. In their half-empty > churches, they vainly preach a weak morality. They are content with > the part of policemen, helping in the interest of the wealthy to > preserve the framework of present society. Or, like politicians, they > flatter the appetites of the crowd. > > Men are powerless against such psychological attacks. They necessarily > yield to the influence of their group. If one lives in the company of > fools or criminals, one becomes a fool or criminal. Isolation is the > only hope of salvation. But where will the inhabitants of the new city > find solitude? Said Marcus Aurelius, ‘No retreat is more peaceful or > less troubled than that encountered by man in his own soul.’ But we > are not capable of such an effort. We cannot fight out social > surroundings victoriously. What does the author mean by saying, ‘A rich man has every right.’?

  1.  The rich are the privileged few chosen by God.
  2.  The rich command resources of every type which enable them to claim and get anything they desire.
  3.  The rich are not accountable to God for any of their actions.
  4.  The govt consists of members belonging to rich families. Hence, they provide every sort of protection to the rich.
  5.  None of these

Solution : The rich command resources of every type which enable them to claim and get anything they desire.
Q113. > In 1955 Maurice Duverger published The Political Role of Women, the > first behavioralist, multinational comparison of women’s electoral > participation ever to use election data and survey data together. His > study analyzed women’s patterns of voting, political candidacy, and > political activism in four European countries during the first half of > the twentieth century. Duverger’s research findings were that women > voted somewhat less frequently than men (the difference narrowing the > longer women had the vote) and were slightly more conservative. > Duverger’s work set an early standard for the sensitive analysis of > women’s electoral activities. Moreover, to Duverger’s credit, he > placed his findings in the context of many of the historical processes > that had shaped these activities. However, since these contexts have > changed over time, Duverger’s approach has proved more durable than > his actual findings. In addition, Duverger’s discussion of his > findings was hampered by his failure to consider certain specific > factors important to women’s electoral participation at the time he > collected his data: the influence of political regimes, the effects of > economic factors, and the ramifications of political and social > relations between women and men. Given this failure, Duverger’s study > foreshadowed the enduring limitations of the behavioralist approach to > the multinational study of women’s political participation. The primary purpose of the passage is to

  1.  evaluate a research study
  2.  summarize the history of a research area
  3.  report new research findings
  4.  reinterpret old research findings
  5.  reconcile conflicting research findings

Solution : evaluate a research study
Q114. > Civilisation, so far, has not succeeded, in creating an environment > suitable to mental and moral activities of mankind. The low > intellectual and spiritual value of most human beings is largely due > to deficiencies of their psychological atmosphere. The supremacy of > matter and the dogmas of industrial religion have destroyed culture, > beauty and morals. The immense spread of newspapers, cheap literature, > radios and cinemas has contributed only to the degeneration of > culture. Unintelligent is becoming more and more general, in spite of > the course given in schools, colleges and universities. School > children and students form their minds on the silly programmes of > public entertainment. Social environment, instead of favouring the > growth of intelligence, opposes it with all its might. > > Moral sense is almost completely ignored by modern society. We have, > in fact, suppressed its manifestation. All are imbued with > irresponsibility. Those who discern good and evil, who are industrious > and provident, remain poor and are looked upon as morose. The woman > who has several children, who devotes herself to their education > instead of to her own career, is considered weak-minded. If a man > saves a little money for his wife and the education of his children, > this money is stolen from him by enterprising financiers or taken by > the Government and distributed to those who have been reduced to want > by their own improvidence and the short-sightedness of manufacturers, > bankers and economists. Artists and men of science supply the > community with beauty, health and wealth. They live and die in > poverty. Robbers enjoy prosperity and peace. Gangsters are protected > by politicians and respected by judges. They are the heroes whom > children admire at the cinema and imitate in their games. A rich man > has every right. He may discard his aging wife, abandon his old mother > to penury, rob those who have entrusted their money to him, without > losing the consideration of his friends. Sexual morals have been cast > aside. Psychoanalysts supervise men and women in their conjugal > relations. There is no difference between wrong and right, just and > unjust. No one makes any objection to their presence. Ministers have > rationalised religion. They have destroyed its mystical basis. But > they do not succeed in attracting modern men. In their half-empty > churches, they vainly preach a weak morality. They are content with > the part of policemen, helping in the interest of the wealthy to > preserve the framework of present society. Or, like politicians, they > flatter the appetites of the crowd. > > Men are powerless against such psychological attacks. They necessarily > yield to the influence of their group. If one lives in the company of > fools or criminals, one becomes a fool or criminal. Isolation is the > only hope of salvation. But where will the inhabitants of the new city > find solitude? Said Marcus Aurelius, ‘No retreat is more peaceful or > less troubled than that encountered by man in his own soul.’ But we > are not capable of such an effort. We cannot fight out social > surroundings victoriously. The general tenor of the article is that

  1.  the modern civilisation has given precedence to intellect over taste.
  2.  we are witnessing a systematic erosion of moral values in modern civilisation.
  3.  for civilisation to be enduring, it should be founded on morality.
  4.  corruption is rampant in public life.
  5.  None of these

Solution : we are witnessing a systematic erosion of moral values in modern civilisation.

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Q115. > In 1955 Maurice Duverger published The Political Role of Women, the > first behavioralist, multinational comparison of women’s electoral > participation ever to use election data and survey data together. His > study analyzed women’s patterns of voting, political candidacy, and > political activism in four European countries during the first half of > the twentieth century. Duverger’s research findings were that women > voted somewhat less frequently than men (the difference narrowing the > longer women had the vote) and were slightly more conservative. > Duverger’s work set an early standard for the sensitive analysis of > women’s electoral activities. Moreover, to Duverger’s credit, he > placed his findings in the context of many of the historical processes > that had shaped these activities. However, since these contexts have > changed over time, Duverger’s approach has proved more durable than > his actual findings. In addition, Duverger’s discussion of his > findings was hampered by his failure to consider certain specific > factors important to women’s electoral participation at the time he > collected his data: the influence of political regimes, the effects of > economic factors, and the ramifications of political and social > relations between women and men. Given this failure, Duverger’s study > foreshadowed the enduring limitations of the behavioralist approach to > the multinational study of women’s political participation. According to the passage, Duverger’s study was unique in 1955 in that it

  1.  included both election data and survey data
  2.  gathered data from sources never before used in political studies
  3.  included an analysis of historical processes
  4.  examined the influence on the voting behavior of the relationships between women and men
  5.  analyzed not only voting and political candidacy but also other political activities

Solution : included both election data and survey data
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