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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Q251. > To teach is to create a space in which obedience to truth is > practiced. Space may sound like a vague, poetic metaphor until we > realize that it describes experiences of everyday life. We know what > it means to be in a green and open field; we know what it means to be > on a crowded rush hour bus. These experiences of physical space have > parallels in our relations with others. On our jobs, we know what it > is to be pressed and crowded, our working space diminished by the > urgency of deadlines and competitiveness of colleagues. But then there > are times when deadlines disappear and colleagues cooperate, when > everyone has space to move, invent and produce with energy and > enthusiasm. With family and friends, we know how it feels to have > unreasonable demands placed upon us, to be boxed in the expectations > of those nearest to us. But then there are times when we feel accepted > for who we are (or forgiven for who we are not), times when a spouse > or a child or a friend gives us the space both to be and to become. > > Similar experiences of crowding and space are found in education. To > sit in a class where the teacher stuffs our minds with information, > organizes it with finality, insists on having the answer while being > utterly uninterested in our views, and forces us into a grim > competition for grades-to sit in such a class is to experience a lack > of space for learning. But to study with a teacher who not only speaks > but also listens, who not only gives answers but asks questions and > welcomes our insights, who provides information and theories that do > not close doors but open new ones, who encourages students to help > each other learn-to study with such a teacher is to know the power of > a learning space. A learning space has three essential dimensions: > openness, boundaries and an air of hospitality. To create open > learning space is to remove the impediments to learning that we find > around and within us: we often create them ourselves to evade the > challenge of truth and transformation. One source of such impediments > is our fear of appearing ignorant to others or to ourselves. The > openness of a space is created by the firmness of its boundaries. A > learning space cannot extend indefinitely; if it did, it would not be > a structure for learning but an invitation for confusion and chaos. > When space boundaries are violated, the quality of space suffers. The > teacher who wants to create an open learning space must define and > defend its boundaries with care, because the pursuit of truth can > often be painful and discomforting, the learning space must be > hospitable. Hospitality means receiving each other, our struggles, our > new-born ideas with openness and care. It means creating an ethos in > which the community of truth can form and the pain of its > transformation be borne. A learning space needs to be hospitable not > to make learning painless, but to make painful things possible, things > without which no learning can occur-things like exposing ignorance, > testing tentative hypotheses, challenging false or partial > information, and mutual criticism of thought. > > The task of creating learning space with qualities of openness, > boundaries and hospitality can be approached at several levels. The > most basic level is the physical arrangement of the classroom. > Consider the traditional classroom setting with row upon row of chairs > facing the lectern where learning space is confined to the narrow > alley of attention between each student and teacher. In this space, > there is no community of truth, hospitality or room for students to > relate to the thoughts of each other. Contrast it with the chairs > placed in a circular arrangement, creating an open space within which > learners can interconnect. At another level, the teacher can create > conceptual space-with words, in two ways. One is through assigned > reading; the other is through lecturing. Assigned reading, not in the > form of speed reading several hundred pages, but contemplative reading > which opens, not fills, our learning space. A teacher can also create > a learning space by means of lectures. By providing critical > information and a framework of interpretation a lecturer can lay down > the boundaries within which learning occurs. We also create learning > space through the kind of speech we utter and the silence from which > true speech emanates. Speech is a precious gift and a vital tool, but > often our speaking is an evasion of truth, a way of buttressing our > self-serving reconstructions of reality. Silence must therefore be an > integral part of learning space. In silence, more than in arguments, > our mind-made world falls away and must also create emotional space in > the classroom, space that allow feeling to arise and be dealt with > because submerged feelings can undermine learning. In an emotionally > honest learning space, one created by a teacher who does not fear > dealing with feelings, the community of truth can flourish between us > and we can flourish in it The statements ‘the openness of a space is created by the firmness of its boundaries’ appears contradictory. Which of the following statements provides the best justification for the proposition?

  1.  We cannot have a space without boundaries.
  2.  Bounded space is highly structured.
  3.  (c) When space boundaries are violated, the quality of space suffers.
  4.  A teacher can effectively defend a learning space without boundaries.
  5.  Learning encompasses such elements as courage, dignity and endeavor.

Solution : (c) When space boundaries are violated, the quality of space suffers.
Q252. > To teach is to create a space in which obedience to truth is > practiced. Space may sound like a vague, poetic metaphor until we > realize that it describes experiences of everyday life. We know what > it means to be in a green and open field; we know what it means to be > on a crowded rush hour bus. These experiences of physical space have > parallels in our relations with others. On our jobs, we know what it > is to be pressed and crowded, our working space diminished by the > urgency of deadlines and competitiveness of colleagues. But then there > are times when deadlines disappear and colleagues cooperate, when > everyone has space to move, invent and produce with energy and > enthusiasm. With family and friends, we know how it feels to have > unreasonable demands placed upon us, to be boxed in the expectations > of those nearest to us. But then there are times when we feel accepted > for who we are (or forgiven for who we are not), times when a spouse > or a child or a friend gives us the space both to be and to become. > > Similar experiences of crowding and space are found in education. To > sit in a class where the teacher stuffs our minds with information, > organizes it with finality, insists on having the answer while being > utterly uninterested in our views, and forces us into a grim > competition for grades-to sit in such a class is to experience a lack > of space for learning. But to study with a teacher who not only speaks > but also listens, who not only gives answers but asks questions and > welcomes our insights, who provides information and theories that do > not close doors but open new ones, who encourages students to help > each other learn-to study with such a teacher is to know the power of > a learning space. A learning space has three essential dimensions: > openness, boundaries and an air of hospitality. To create open > learning space is to remove the impediments to learning that we find > around and within us: we often create them ourselves to evade the > challenge of truth and transformation. One source of such impediments > is our fear of appearing ignorant to others or to ourselves. The > openness of a space is created by the firmness of its boundaries. A > learning space cannot extend indefinitely; if it did, it would not be > a structure for learning but an invitation for confusion and chaos. > When space boundaries are violated, the quality of space suffers. The > teacher who wants to create an open learning space must define and > defend its boundaries with care, because the pursuit of truth can > often be painful and discomforting, the learning space must be > hospitable. Hospitality means receiving each other, our struggles, our > new-born ideas with openness and care. It means creating an ethos in > which the community of truth can form and the pain of its > transformation be borne. A learning space needs to be hospitable not > to make learning painless, but to make painful things possible, things > without which no learning can occur-things like exposing ignorance, > testing tentative hypotheses, challenging false or partial > information, and mutual criticism of thought. > > The task of creating learning space with qualities of openness, > boundaries and hospitality can be approached at several levels. The > most basic level is the physical arrangement of the classroom. > Consider the traditional classroom setting with row upon row of chairs > facing the lectern where learning space is confined to the narrow > alley of attention between each student and teacher. In this space, > there is no community of truth, hospitality or room for students to > relate to the thoughts of each other. Contrast it with the chairs > placed in a circular arrangement, creating an open space within which > learners can interconnect. At another level, the teacher can create > conceptual space-with words, in two ways. One is through assigned > reading; the other is through lecturing. Assigned reading, not in the > form of speed reading several hundred pages, but contemplative reading > which opens, not fills, our learning space. A teacher can also create > a learning space by means of lectures. By providing critical > information and a framework of interpretation a lecturer can lay down > the boundaries within which learning occurs. We also create learning > space through the kind of speech we utter and the silence from which > true speech emanates. Speech is a precious gift and a vital tool, but > often our speaking is an evasion of truth, a way of buttressing our > self-serving reconstructions of reality. Silence must therefore be an > integral part of learning space. In silence, more than in arguments, > our mind-made world falls away and must also create emotional space in > the classroom, space that allow feeling to arise and be dealt with > because submerged feelings can undermine learning. In an emotionally > honest learning space, one created by a teacher who does not fear > dealing with feelings, the community of truth can flourish between us > and we can flourish in it The task of creating learning space with qualities of openness, boundaries and hospitality is multidimensional. It involves operating at:

  1.  Psychological and conceptual levels.
  2.  Physical, perceptual and behavioral levels.
  3.  Physical, conceptual and emotional levels.
  4.  Conceptual, verbal and sensitive levels.
  5.  Bounded space is highly structured.

Solution : Physical, conceptual and emotional levels.
Q253. > To teach is to create a space in which obedience to truth is > practiced. Space may sound like a vague, poetic metaphor until we > realize that it describes experiences of everyday life. We know what > it means to be in a green and open field; we know what it means to be > on a crowded rush hour bus. These experiences of physical space have > parallels in our relations with others. On our jobs, we know what it > is to be pressed and crowded, our working space diminished by the > urgency of deadlines and competitiveness of colleagues. But then there > are times when deadlines disappear and colleagues cooperate, when > everyone has space to move, invent and produce with energy and > enthusiasm. With family and friends, we know how it feels to have > unreasonable demands placed upon us, to be boxed in the expectations > of those nearest to us. But then there are times when we feel accepted > for who we are (or forgiven for who we are not), times when a spouse > or a child or a friend gives us the space both to be and to become. > > Similar experiences of crowding and space are found in education. To > sit in a class where the teacher stuffs our minds with information, > organizes it with finality, insists on having the answer while being > utterly uninterested in our views, and forces us into a grim > competition for grades-to sit in such a class is to experience a lack > of space for learning. But to study with a teacher who not only speaks > but also listens, who not only gives answers but asks questions and > welcomes our insights, who provides information and theories that do > not close doors but open new ones, who encourages students to help > each other learn-to study with such a teacher is to know the power of > a learning space. A learning space has three essential dimensions: > openness, boundaries and an air of hospitality. To create open > learning space is to remove the impediments to learning that we find > around and within us: we often create them ourselves to evade the > challenge of truth and transformation. One source of such impediments > is our fear of appearing ignorant to others or to ourselves. The > openness of a space is created by the firmness of its boundaries. A > learning space cannot extend indefinitely; if it did, it would not be > a structure for learning but an invitation for confusion and chaos. > When space boundaries are violated, the quality of space suffers. The > teacher who wants to create an open learning space must define and > defend its boundaries with care, because the pursuit of truth can > often be painful and discomforting, the learning space must be > hospitable. Hospitality means receiving each other, our struggles, our > new-born ideas with openness and care. It means creating an ethos in > which the community of truth can form and the pain of its > transformation be borne. A learning space needs to be hospitable not > to make learning painless, but to make painful things possible, things > without which no learning can occur-things like exposing ignorance, > testing tentative hypotheses, challenging false or partial > information, and mutual criticism of thought. > > The task of creating learning space with qualities of openness, > boundaries and hospitality can be approached at several levels. The > most basic level is the physical arrangement of the classroom. > Consider the traditional classroom setting with row upon row of chairs > facing the lectern where learning space is confined to the narrow > alley of attention between each student and teacher. In this space, > there is no community of truth, hospitality or room for students to > relate to the thoughts of each other. Contrast it with the chairs > placed in a circular arrangement, creating an open space within which > learners can interconnect. At another level, the teacher can create > conceptual space-with words, in two ways. One is through assigned > reading; the other is through lecturing. Assigned reading, not in the > form of speed reading several hundred pages, but contemplative reading > which opens, not fills, our learning space. A teacher can also create > a learning space by means of lectures. By providing critical > information and a framework of interpretation a lecturer can lay down > the boundaries within which learning occurs. We also create learning > space through the kind of speech we utter and the silence from which > true speech emanates. Speech is a precious gift and a vital tool, but > often our speaking is an evasion of truth, a way of buttressing our > self-serving reconstructions of reality. Silence must therefore be an > integral part of learning space. In silence, more than in arguments, > our mind-made world falls away and must also create emotional space in > the classroom, space that allow feeling to arise and be dealt with > because submerged feelings can undermine learning. In an emotionally > honest learning space, one created by a teacher who does not fear > dealing with feelings, the community of truth can flourish between us > and we can flourish in it According to the author, silence must be an integral part of learning space because:

  1.  Silence helps to unite us with others to create a community of truth.
  2.  Silent contemplation prepares us to construct our mind-made world.
  3.  Speaking is too often an exercise in the evasion of truth.
  4.  Speaking is too often a way of buttressing our self-serving reconstruction of reality.
  5.  Exclusively rooted in our experiences of physical space.

Solution : Silence helps to unite us with others to create a community of truth.
Q254. > To teach is to create a space in which obedience to truth is > practiced. Space may sound like a vague, poetic metaphor until we > realize that it describes experiences of everyday life. We know what > it means to be in a green and open field; we know what it means to be > on a crowded rush hour bus. These experiences of physical space have > parallels in our relations with others. On our jobs, we know what it > is to be pressed and crowded, our working space diminished by the > urgency of deadlines and competitiveness of colleagues. But then there > are times when deadlines disappear and colleagues cooperate, when > everyone has space to move, invent and produce with energy and > enthusiasm. With family and friends, we know how it feels to have > unreasonable demands placed upon us, to be boxed in the expectations > of those nearest to us. But then there are times when we feel accepted > for who we are (or forgiven for who we are not), times when a spouse > or a child or a friend gives us the space both to be and to become. > > Similar experiences of crowding and space are found in education. To > sit in a class where the teacher stuffs our minds with information, > organizes it with finality, insists on having the answer while being > utterly uninterested in our views, and forces us into a grim > competition for grades-to sit in such a class is to experience a lack > of space for learning. But to study with a teacher who not only speaks > but also listens, who not only gives answers but asks questions and > welcomes our insights, who provides information and theories that do > not close doors but open new ones, who encourages students to help > each other learn-to study with such a teacher is to know the power of > a learning space. A learning space has three essential dimensions: > openness, boundaries and an air of hospitality. To create open > learning space is to remove the impediments to learning that we find > around and within us: we often create them ourselves to evade the > challenge of truth and transformation. One source of such impediments > is our fear of appearing ignorant to others or to ourselves. The > openness of a space is created by the firmness of its boundaries. A > learning space cannot extend indefinitely; if it did, it would not be > a structure for learning but an invitation for confusion and chaos. > When space boundaries are violated, the quality of space suffers. The > teacher who wants to create an open learning space must define and > defend its boundaries with care, because the pursuit of truth can > often be painful and discomforting, the learning space must be > hospitable. Hospitality means receiving each other, our struggles, our > new-born ideas with openness and care. It means creating an ethos in > which the community of truth can form and the pain of its > transformation be borne. A learning space needs to be hospitable not > to make learning painless, but to make painful things possible, things > without which no learning can occur-things like exposing ignorance, > testing tentative hypotheses, challenging false or partial > information, and mutual criticism of thought. > > The task of creating learning space with qualities of openness, > boundaries and hospitality can be approached at several levels. The > most basic level is the physical arrangement of the classroom. > Consider the traditional classroom setting with row upon row of chairs > facing the lectern where learning space is confined to the narrow > alley of attention between each student and teacher. In this space, > there is no community of truth, hospitality or room for students to > relate to the thoughts of each other. Contrast it with the chairs > placed in a circular arrangement, creating an open space within which > learners can interconnect. At another level, the teacher can create > conceptual space-with words, in two ways. One is through assigned > reading; the other is through lecturing. Assigned reading, not in the > form of speed reading several hundred pages, but contemplative reading > which opens, not fills, our learning space. A teacher can also create > a learning space by means of lectures. By providing critical > information and a framework of interpretation a lecturer can lay down > the boundaries within which learning occurs. We also create learning > space through the kind of speech we utter and the silence from which > true speech emanates. Speech is a precious gift and a vital tool, but > often our speaking is an evasion of truth, a way of buttressing our > self-serving reconstructions of reality. Silence must therefore be an > integral part of learning space. In silence, more than in arguments, > our mind-made world falls away and must also create emotional space in > the classroom, space that allow feeling to arise and be dealt with > because submerged feelings can undermine learning. In an emotionally > honest learning space, one created by a teacher who does not fear > dealing with feelings, the community of truth can flourish between us > and we can flourish in it According to the author, an effective teacher does not allow

  1.  feelings to arise within the learning space.
  2.  silence to become an integral part of the learning space.
  3.  learning space to be filled by speed reading of several hundred pages of assigned reading.
  4.  violation of learning space boundaries.
  5.  creative extrapolation and illustrations.

Solution : learning space to be filled by speed reading of several hundred pages of assigned reading.

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Q255. > To teach is to create a space in which obedience to truth is > practiced. Space may sound like a vague, poetic metaphor until we > realize that it describes experiences of everyday life. We know what > it means to be in a green and open field; we know what it means to be > on a crowded rush hour bus. These experiences of physical space have > parallels in our relations with others. On our jobs, we know what it > is to be pressed and crowded, our working space diminished by the > urgency of deadlines and competitiveness of colleagues. But then there > are times when deadlines disappear and colleagues cooperate, when > everyone has space to move, invent and produce with energy and > enthusiasm. With family and friends, we know how it feels to have > unreasonable demands placed upon us, to be boxed in the expectations > of those nearest to us. But then there are times when we feel accepted > for who we are (or forgiven for who we are not), times when a spouse > or a child or a friend gives us the space both to be and to become. > > Similar experiences of crowding and space are found in education. To > sit in a class where the teacher stuffs our minds with information, > organizes it with finality, insists on having the answer while being > utterly uninterested in our views, and forces us into a grim > competition for grades-to sit in such a class is to experience a lack > of space for learning. But to study with a teacher who not only speaks > but also listens, who not only gives answers but asks questions and > welcomes our insights, who provides information and theories that do > not close doors but open new ones, who encourages students to help > each other learn-to study with such a teacher is to know the power of > a learning space. A learning space has three essential dimensions: > openness, boundaries and an air of hospitality. To create open > learning space is to remove the impediments to learning that we find > around and within us: we often create them ourselves to evade the > challenge of truth and transformation. One source of such impediments > is our fear of appearing ignorant to others or to ourselves. The > openness of a space is created by the firmness of its boundaries. A > learning space cannot extend indefinitely; if it did, it would not be > a structure for learning but an invitation for confusion and chaos. > When space boundaries are violated, the quality of space suffers. The > teacher who wants to create an open learning space must define and > defend its boundaries with care, because the pursuit of truth can > often be painful and discomforting, the learning space must be > hospitable. Hospitality means receiving each other, our struggles, our > new-born ideas with openness and care. It means creating an ethos in > which the community of truth can form and the pain of its > transformation be borne. A learning space needs to be hospitable not > to make learning painless, but to make painful things possible, things > without which no learning can occur-things like exposing ignorance, > testing tentative hypotheses, challenging false or partial > information, and mutual criticism of thought. > > The task of creating learning space with qualities of openness, > boundaries and hospitality can be approached at several levels. The > most basic level is the physical arrangement of the classroom. > Consider the traditional classroom setting with row upon row of chairs > facing the lectern where learning space is confined to the narrow > alley of attention between each student and teacher. In this space, > there is no community of truth, hospitality or room for students to > relate to the thoughts of each other. Contrast it with the chairs > placed in a circular arrangement, creating an open space within which > learners can interconnect. At another level, the teacher can create > conceptual space-with words, in two ways. One is through assigned > reading; the other is through lecturing. Assigned reading, not in the > form of speed reading several hundred pages, but contemplative reading > which opens, not fills, our learning space. A teacher can also create > a learning space by means of lectures. By providing critical > information and a framework of interpretation a lecturer can lay down > the boundaries within which learning occurs. We also create learning > space through the kind of speech we utter and the silence from which > true speech emanates. Speech is a precious gift and a vital tool, but > often our speaking is an evasion of truth, a way of buttressing our > self-serving reconstructions of reality. Silence must therefore be an > integral part of learning space. In silence, more than in arguments, > our mind-made world falls away and must also create emotional space in > the classroom, space that allow feeling to arise and be dealt with > because submerged feelings can undermine learning. In an emotionally > honest learning space, one created by a teacher who does not fear > dealing with feelings, the community of truth can flourish between us > and we can flourish in it Understanding the notion of space in our relations with others is:

  1.  To acknowledge the beauty of poetic metaphor.
  2.  Exclusively rooted in our experiences of physical space.
  3.  To accept a spiritual dimension in our dealings with our peers.
  4.  To extend the parallel of physical space to our experiences in daily life.
  5.  Psychological and conceptual levels.

Solution : To extend the parallel of physical space to our experiences in daily life.
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Solution :

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