
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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Q116. > 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.
‘Ministers have rationalised religion’ means
- they have interpreted religion in a way favourable to themselves
- they have severed the connection of religion from faith and belief.
- they have made religion a thing of mind instead of a thing of heart.
- they judge every principle of religion on its merit.
- None of these
Solution : they have severed the connection of religion from faith and belief.
Q117. > 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.
Which of the following characteristics of a country is most clearly an example of a factor that Duverger, as described in the passage, failed to consider in his study?
- A predominantly urban population
- A large population
- A predominantly Protestant population
- A one-party government
- Location in the heart of Europe
Solution : A one-party government
Q118. > 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 author implies that Duverger’s actual findings are
- limited because they focus on only four countries
- inaccurate in their description of the four countries in the early 1950s
- out-of-date in that they are inapplicable in the four countries today
- flawed because they are based on unsound data
- biased by Duverger’s political beliefs
Solution : out-of-date in that they are inapplicable in the four countries today
Q119. > 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 passage implies that, in comparing four European countries, Duverger found that the voting rates of women and men were most different in the country in which women
- were most politically active
- ran for office most often
- held the most conservative political views
- had the most egalitarian relations with men
- had possessed the right to vote for the shortest time
Solution : had possessed the right to vote for the shortest time
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Q120. > 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 author implies that some behavioralist research involving the multinational study of women’s political participation that followed Duverger’s study did which of the following?
- Ignored Duverger’s approach
- Suffered from faults similar to those in Duverger’s study
- Focused on political activism
- Focused on the influences of political regimes
- Focused on the political and social relations between women and men
Solution : Suffered from faults similar to those in Duverger’s study
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Solution :
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