Wednesday 25 January 2017

English Important Reading Comprehension Set 8 Asked in Various Exams for IPPB and IDBI

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases are given in the bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

A goat was struggling violently and injured many people, as it was being led away by a dozen men through the street. It was being taken away for a sacrificial offering. But it became calm the moment it saw a saint. The saint bent down and said somethhing in its ear and patted it on its back. He then withdrew covering his face and muttering “How sad! My poor friend!”.

The animal now tame allowed itself to be led away. The onlookers flocked around the saint and asked him what he had whispered to the goat?

The Saint explained that the goiat was a reincarnation of his good friend, a wealthy man who instituted the sacrifice as a ritual in the village and that he had told the goat that the game was started by it in its previous birth so why was it complaining now when it was its time toi be in the same boat. He continued “As one sows, so shall he reap.”

The story spread and even tually brought an end to the ritual of animal slaughter in the name of sacrificial offering in the village.

1. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
a) Reincarnation is a phenomenon which occurs
b) One receives as one propagates
c) Animal slaughter is now banned by law
d) Saints do have magical powers

2. Which of the following is true in the context of the passage?
a) The goat was not sacrificed
b) The ritual of sacrifice gradually stopped in the village
c) The Saint did not believe in reincarnation
d) The onlookers were ashamed of themselves and avoided the Saint

3. Why did the goat recognize the Saint?
a) It was the Saint who had asked people to sacrifice it
b) The Saint was wearing a robe unlike the other onlookers
c) The Saint had a peculiar look
d) The Saint had been a good friend of the goat in its previous birth

4. Why did the Saint mutter “How sad! My poor friend”?
a) He was against the lifestyle of his friend
b) The goat had been injured while it was being led away
c) The goat was dying from its wounds
d) He was sad because his friend was going to be killed

5. Why did the animal become docile after the Saint talked to it?
a) It was keen to be sacrificed
b) It had already injured many people and was tired
c) The priest promised that it wouldn’t be sacrificed
d) It had accepted that it deserved its fate

6. Choose the word that is most nearly the same in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
Patted
a) Stroked b) Flattened c) Hit
d) Hurt

7. Choose the word that is most nearly the same in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
Flocked
a) Herd b) Together c) Gathered
d) Accompanied

8. Choose the word which is most opposite in the meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
Tame
a) Spirited b) Disciplined c) Cruel
d) Insane

9. Choose the word which is most opposite in the meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
End
a) Life b) Begin c) Middle
d) Start

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them, while answering some of the questions.

Though the US prides itself on being a leader in the World community, a recent report shows that it lags far behind other industrialised countries in meeting the needs of its youngest and most vulnerable citizens. The US has a higher infant mortality rate, a higher proportion of low birth weight babies, a smaller proportion of babies immunised against childhood diseases and a much higher rate of adolescent pregnancies. These findings, described as a “quiet crisis” requiring immediate and far reching action, appeared in a report prepared by a task force of educators, doctors, politicians and business people. According to the report, a fourth of the nation’s 12 million infants and toddlers live in poverty. As many as half confront risk factors that could harm their ability to develop intellectually, physically and socially. Child immunisations are too low, more children are born into poverty, more are in substandard care, while their parents work and more are being raised by single parents. When taken together, these and other risk factors can lead to educational and health problems that are much harder and more costly to reverse.

The crisis begins in the womb with unplanned parenthood. Women with unplanned pregnancies are less likely to seek pre natal care. In the US 80% of teenage pregnancies and 56% of all pregnancies are unplanned. The problems continue after birth, where unplanned pregnancies and unstable partnerships often go hand in hand. Since 1950, the number of single parent families has nearly tripled. More than 25% of all births today are to unmarried mothers. As the number of single parent families grows and more women enter the work force, infants and toddlers are increasingly in the care of people other than their parents.

Most disturbingly, recent statistics show that American parents are increasingly neglecting or abusing their children. In only four years from 1987- 1991, the number of children in foster care increased by over 50%. Babies under the age of one are the fastest growing category of children entering foster care. This crisis affects children under the age of three most severely, the report says. Yet, it is this period – from infancy through preschool years – that sets the stage for a child’s future.

10. The main focus of the passage is on the plight of
a) Orphaned children
b) Teenage mothers
c) Low birth weight babies
d) None of these

11. Which of the following does not constitute ‘quiet crisis’ in the US as per the task force report?
a) Lower proportion of new born babies with normal weight
b) Higher incidence of adolescent girls becoming mothers
c) Lower rate of babies surviving childhood diseases
d) Increasing cases of teenage couples getting divorced

12. Which of the following statements is not true in the context of the passage?
a) The number of single parent families today is approximately three times that four decades ago
b) The number of children in the US entering foster care has decreased after 1991
c) In the US, the number of infants living in poverty is about 3 million
d) Only 20% of all the pregnancies in the US are planned

13. The number of children born to married mothers in the US is approximately, how many times the number of children born to unwed mothers?
a) 1.5 times b) 2 times c) 3 times
d) 3.5 times

14. The task force report seems to be based on the data pertaining to the period
a) 1987-91
b) 1950 onwards till data
c) 1987 onwards till data
d) 1950-91

15. Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning to the given word given in bold as used in the passage.
Confront
a) Face b) Tolerate c) Succumb
d) Eliminate

16. Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning to the given word given in bold as used in the passage.
Vulnerable
a) Insecure b) Indispensable c) Risky
d) Promising

17. Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning to the given word in bold as used in the passage.
Severely
a) Drastically b) Intensely c) Minutely
d) Slightly

18. Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning to the given word in bold as used in the passage.
Substandard
a) Impoverished
b) Compassionate
c) Excellent
d) Valuable


ANSWERS:

1. Option B
2. Option B
3. Option D
4. Option D
5. Option D
6. Option A
7. Option C
8. Option D
9. Option D
10. Option D
11. Option D
12. Option B
13. Option C
14. Option D
15. Option A
16. Option A
17. Option D

18. Option C


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