English: Reading Comprehension MCQs — English (page 2)
39 multiple-choice questions on English: Reading Comprehension from English, each with the correct answer and, where available, a teacher's explanation. Read through them to revise the chapter, then practise the same questions one by one to test yourself.
26. Read the passage and answer. The shopkeeper counted the change twice and frowned. The customer, a young boy in a torn shirt, had given him a thousand-rupee note for a loaf of bread – and then hurried away before taking the change. That evening the shopkeeper waited at the door, the folded notes in his pocket. When the boy finally walked past, the old man called him over and pressed the money into his hand. "Your mother must have saved for weeks for this," he said quietly. The boy said nothing, but the look in his eyes stayed with the shopkeeper for the rest of his life. The shopkeeper can best be described as:
strict
honest and kind
forgetful
greedy
Answer: B) honest and kind
Explanation: He returned the money and spoke gently. Reading Comprehension · Inference & tone
27. Read the passage and answer. Sleep is not a waste of time. During deep sleep the brain sorts and stores the information gathered during the day, which is why students who sleep well remember more of what they study. Lack of sleep, on the other hand, weakens concentration, slows reaction time and lowers the body's resistance to disease. Teenagers need about eight to ten hours of sleep a night, yet many get far less because of late-night phone use. Switching off screens an hour before bed is one of the simplest ways to sleep better. Which is NOT given as an effect of lack of sleep?
higher marks
weaker concentration
lower resistance to disease
slower reaction time
Answer: A) higher marks
Explanation: Higher marks contradicts the passage. Reading Comprehension · Main idea & detail
28. Read the passage and answer. Allama Muhammad Iqbal was not only a great poet but also a philosopher whose ideas inspired the Muslims of the subcontinent. In his famous Allahabad Address of 1930, he presented the idea of a separate homeland for the Muslims of north-western India. His poetry, written in both Urdu and Persian, urged young people to discover their khudi, or selfhood, and to rise above despair through action and faith. Although he died in 1938, nine years before the creation of Pakistan, he is rightly called the spiritual father of the nation. The word "khudi" in the passage means:
homeland
despair
poetry
selfhood
Answer: D) selfhood
Explanation: The passage explains khudi as "selfhood". Reading Comprehension · Main idea & detail
29. Read the passage and answer. Pakistan is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. Its agriculture, which employs a large share of the workforce, depends almost entirely on the Indus River system. Yet much of the water that reaches the fields is lost through unlined canals and flood irrigation. Experts argue that lining canals, adopting drip and sprinkler irrigation, and pricing water sensibly could save enormous quantities without building a single new dam. Storage remains important, but conservation is the cheapest and quickest source of "new" water. What is the main idea of the passage?
Conserving water is the quickest and cheapest way to tackle Pakistan's water shortage.
The Indus is the longest river of Pakistan.
Agriculture employs most people in Pakistan.
Pakistan should build many new dams immediately.
Answer: A) Conserving water is the quickest and cheapest way to tackle Pakistan's water shortage.
Explanation: The last sentence states the central point: conservation is the cheapest and quickest source. Reading Comprehension · Main idea & detail
30. Read the passage and answer. Pakistan is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. Its agriculture, which employs a large share of the workforce, depends almost entirely on the Indus River system. Yet much of the water that reaches the fields is lost through unlined canals and flood irrigation. Experts argue that lining canals, adopting drip and sprinkler irrigation, and pricing water sensibly could save enormous quantities without building a single new dam. Storage remains important, but conservation is the cheapest and quickest source of "new" water. According to the passage, water is lost mainly through:
unlined canals and flood irrigation
industrial use
drinking-water pipes
evaporation from dams
Answer: A) unlined canals and flood irrigation
Explanation: Stated directly in the third sentence. Reading Comprehension · Main idea & detail
31. Read the passage and answer. Inflation is often described as a hidden tax. When prices rise faster than incomes, every rupee buys less than before, and the savings of ordinary families quietly shrink. The poor suffer most, because a larger share of their income goes on food and fuel, whose prices tend to be the most volatile. Central banks try to tame inflation by raising interest rates, which makes borrowing costlier and cools spending. The remedy, however, has side effects: businesses postpone investment and unemployment may rise. The word "tame" in the passage most nearly means:
increase
ignore
feed
control
Answer: D) control
Explanation: Central banks try to control inflation. Reading Comprehension · Vocabulary in context
32. Read the passage and answer. The arrival of artificial intelligence in classrooms has been greeted with both excitement and alarm. Supporters claim that AI tutors can give every student personal attention, something no teacher with sixty pupils can manage. Critics fear that students will stop thinking for themselves and simply copy machine-made answers. The truth probably lies in between: like the calculator before it, AI will be harmful only if it replaces learning rather than supporting it. The real task for teachers is to design assignments that a machine cannot complete on a student's behalf. The author's attitude towards AI in education is best described as:
balanced
indifferent
completely hostile
blindly enthusiastic
Answer: A) balanced
Explanation: "The truth probably lies in between". Reading Comprehension · Inference & tone
33. Read the passage and answer. Sleep is not a waste of time. During deep sleep the brain sorts and stores the information gathered during the day, which is why students who sleep well remember more of what they study. Lack of sleep, on the other hand, weakens concentration, slows reaction time and lowers the body's resistance to disease. Teenagers need about eight to ten hours of sleep a night, yet many get far less because of late-night phone use. Switching off screens an hour before bed is one of the simplest ways to sleep better. According to the passage, during deep sleep the brain:
forgets the day's lessons
sorts and stores information
stops working
creates dreams only
Answer: B) sorts and stores information
Explanation: Second sentence. Reading Comprehension · Main idea & detail
34. Read the passage and answer. Sleep is not a waste of time. During deep sleep the brain sorts and stores the information gathered during the day, which is why students who sleep well remember more of what they study. Lack of sleep, on the other hand, weakens concentration, slows reaction time and lowers the body's resistance to disease. Teenagers need about eight to ten hours of sleep a night, yet many get far less because of late-night phone use. Switching off screens an hour before bed is one of the simplest ways to sleep better. The writer suggests that many teenagers sleep too little because of:
noise
illness
heavy homework
late-night phone use
Answer: D) late-night phone use
Explanation: Stated in the fourth sentence. Reading Comprehension · Main idea & detail
35. Read the passage and answer. Pakistan is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. Its agriculture, which employs a large share of the workforce, depends almost entirely on the Indus River system. Yet much of the water that reaches the fields is lost through unlined canals and flood irrigation. Experts argue that lining canals, adopting drip and sprinkler irrigation, and pricing water sensibly could save enormous quantities without building a single new dam. Storage remains important, but conservation is the cheapest and quickest source of "new" water. Which method is NOT mentioned for saving water?
pricing water sensibly
drip irrigation
lining canals
cloud seeding
Answer: D) cloud seeding
Explanation: Cloud seeding is not mentioned. Reading Comprehension · Main idea & detail
36. Read the passage and answer. The arrival of artificial intelligence in classrooms has been greeted with both excitement and alarm. Supporters claim that AI tutors can give every student personal attention, something no teacher with sixty pupils can manage. Critics fear that students will stop thinking for themselves and simply copy machine-made answers. The truth probably lies in between: like the calculator before it, AI will be harmful only if it replaces learning rather than supporting it. The real task for teachers is to design assignments that a machine cannot complete on a student's behalf. The author compares AI to the calculator in order to show that:
machines cannot teach
AI is older than calculators
a tool is harmful only if it replaces learning
calculators are dangerous
Answer: C) a tool is harmful only if it replaces learning
Explanation: The comparison supports the point about replacing vs supporting learning. Reading Comprehension · Inference & tone
37. Read the passage and answer. Inflation is often described as a hidden tax. When prices rise faster than incomes, every rupee buys less than before, and the savings of ordinary families quietly shrink. The poor suffer most, because a larger share of their income goes on food and fuel, whose prices tend to be the most volatile. Central banks try to tame inflation by raising interest rates, which makes borrowing costlier and cools spending. The remedy, however, has side effects: businesses postpone investment and unemployment may rise. According to the passage, raising interest rates:
lowers unemployment
increases inflation
increases investment
makes borrowing costlier and reduces spending
Answer: D) makes borrowing costlier and reduces spending
Explanation: Fourth sentence. Reading Comprehension · Vocabulary in context
38. Read the passage and answer. The shopkeeper counted the change twice and frowned. The customer, a young boy in a torn shirt, had given him a thousand-rupee note for a loaf of bread – and then hurried away before taking the change. That evening the shopkeeper waited at the door, the folded notes in his pocket. When the boy finally walked past, the old man called him over and pressed the money into his hand. "Your mother must have saved for weeks for this," he said quietly. The boy said nothing, but the look in his eyes stayed with the shopkeeper for the rest of his life. The word "pressed" in the passage means:
ironed
gave firmly
squeezed hard
pushed away
Answer: B) gave firmly
Explanation: He put the money firmly into the boy's hand. Reading Comprehension · Inference & tone
39. Read the passage and answer. The arrival of artificial intelligence in classrooms has been greeted with both excitement and alarm. Supporters claim that AI tutors can give every student personal attention, something no teacher with sixty pupils can manage. Critics fear that students will stop thinking for themselves and simply copy machine-made answers. The truth probably lies in between: like the calculator before it, AI will be harmful only if it replaces learning rather than supporting it. The real task for teachers is to design assignments that a machine cannot complete on a student's behalf. The word "alarm" in the first sentence means:
a clock
fear
excitement
noise
Answer: B) fear
Explanation: Context: "excitement and alarm" – fear. Reading Comprehension · Inference & tone