Reading Comprehension Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Both (a) and (b) are right.

(a) The scarecrow 'found a tree full of nuts and filled Dorothy's basket with them'.

(b) The passage says he did not mind how long the filling took, because it kept him away from the fire, 'as he feared a spark might get into his straw and burn him up'. The key reads this as fear for his life, which made him keep busy gathering nuts, away from the flames.

Because both statements follow from the passage, the options that call either one wrong are incorrect.

Answer: B

Only statement (a) is right, so the answer is '(b) and (c) are wrong but (a) is right'.

(a) is right: Dorothy thought filling her basket 'very kind and thoughtful', so she was obliged to him.

(b) is wrong: the scarecrow is stuffed with straw and gathers the nuts for Dorothy, not to satisfy his own hunger. (c) is wrong: he filled the basket 'so that she would not be hungry for a long time', which is not the same as gathering enough that no one would remain hungry, and the Lion found his own supper.

Answer: A

The statement that is not true is 'Scarecrow was afraid that the Lion might kill him'.

The only fear the passage gives the scarecrow is of the fire: a spark might get into his straw and burn him up. The Lion is not mentioned as a danger to him.

Dorothy 'laughed heartily' at his clumsy nut-picking, so (4) is true. The Lion 'went into the forest and found his own supper', which fits (3) in its everyday meaning that he hunted for food. Statement (2) is not stated in the passage, but the nuts were gathered for Dorothy and the Lion found his own food, so the key treats only (1) as clearly contradicted.

Answer: D

Statements (1) and (2) are both true, so the answer is 'Both (1) and (2)'.

(1) He filled Dorothy's basket with nuts, which the passage calls 'very kind and thoughtful', so he is kind-hearted. (2) He covered Dorothy with dry leaves, which 'kept her snug and warm' while she slept.

(3) is not supported: the Lion went off by himself to find supper and the passage says nothing of the scarecrow keeping him away from Dorothy.

Answer: B

A soldier is jealous about his honour because he is very sensitive about it.

Here 'jealous in honour' does not mean envious. It means watchful and touchy about one's honour, so that the soldier is 'sudden and quick in quarrel' when he feels it is questioned.

Option (1) takes 'jealous' in its everyday sense of envy of an enemy, which the line does not say. Option (3) borrows 'bearded like a pard' (a leopard) from the line before, but that describes his appearance, not why he is jealous of honour. Option (4) describes seeking 'the bubble-reputation', which is a different point.

Answer: B

The figure of speech is a Metaphor.

The line continues the comparison of the world to a stage and people to actors. 'Exits and entrances' are the actors' movements off and on stage, standing for death and birth; life is described directly as a play, without 'like' or 'as', which makes it a metaphor.

A simile would say life is like a play, personification would give human qualities to something non-human, and hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration.

Answer: D

Both statements are right, so the answer is 'both (1) and (2)'.

The school-boy is described as 'creeping like snail / Unwilling to school', so he is reluctant to go to school. He also has a 'shining morning face', so in the morning he looks bright and fresh, which the key reads as looking beautiful.

Nothing is said about liking teachers, so option (3) is out. Since both (1) and (2) hold, the single options (1) and (2) are incomplete.

Answer: A

All men and women perform various roles in life.

The speech says 'All the world is a stage, / And all the men and women merely players', and 'one man in his time plays many parts'. People are compared to actors, each playing many roles through the seven ages of life.

'Players' means actors here, not sportspeople, so indoor games such as chess and cards and outdoor games such as football and cricket are traps of the word. Fighting wars is the role of only one of the seven ages, the soldier.

Answer: B

The lover's sigh is compared to a furnace because he feels emotionally charged.

A furnace is intensely hot, and the comparison shows the burning passion and strong feeling of the lover, whose sighs come out as hot and heavy as air from a furnace.

The lover is not described as quick to anger, so (1) is wrong. A furnace does not suggest warmth offered to his beloved, so (3) is wrong. He does make a ballad, but the ballad is 'woeful' and 'made to his mistress' eyebrow', and it is not the reason for the furnace comparison, so (4) is wrong.

Answer: B

The figure of speech in the first line is a metaphor.

'All the world is a stage' states that the world is a stage, without 'like' or 'as'. One thing is called another, which is the mark of a metaphor.

A simile would say the world is 'like' a stage, personification would give human qualities to a non-human thing, and hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration. None of these fits the line.