Reading Comprehension Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The statement that is not true is that military discipline teaches soldiers to act tactfully in the battlefield.

The extract shows discipline as obedience without question: 'Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die.' So discipline teaches soldiers to do and die, to obey the commander's order, and not to ask any question. Nothing in the lines speaks of acting tactfully or using their own judgement, and the whole point of the lines is that the soldiers do not.

Answer: D

The adjective that does not apply is impractical.

The soldiers ride on although they know that someone has blundered, which shows courage; they obey orders without reply, which shows discipline; and they are ready to die for their cause, which is patriotism. Nothing in the extract suggests that they act in an impractical, unrealistic way; they act as they are ordered to by their commander, however costly. Courageous, disciplined and patriotic all fit the lines, so the odd one out is impractical.

Answer: A

The figure of speech in 'the Valley of Death' is a metaphor.

Death is not a real valley, and the poet speaks of the dangerous ground the soldiers ride into as if it were one, with no word of comparison such as like or as. A comparison made without such a word is a metaphor.

A simile needs 'like' or 'as'. Synecdoche uses a part for the whole (a hand for a worker) and metonymy uses a closely linked name for the thing (the crown for the king); the phrase does neither.

Answer: B

The device in 'to do and die' is Alliteration.

Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of nearby words. 'Do' and 'die' both begin with the d sound, which gives the line its strong, rhythmic beat.

Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds, a simile compares two things using like or as, and personification gives human qualities to non-human things. None of these is present in the phrase.

Answer: D

In the first stanza the soldiers are seen riding fast to the enemy territory.

The first lines say 'Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred', and the order is 'Charge for the guns'. The soldiers are therefore riding forward into the enemy's fire. The poem calls it a charge, so the ride is fast.

There is no talk among the soldiers about personal problems, no waiting (they are already riding), and no thought of the result of the war in this stanza.

Answer: D

The earth forests look amazing because of the pillars formed by rocks that resemble a forest.

Paragraph 2 says these earth forests are 'full of pillars formed by rocks that collectively appear like a forest from afar', an 'out of the world' landscape shaped by geological movements and by erosion from wind and water. That striking look is what the question asks about.

The ruins on the Sutlej's bank are the Khyunglung ruins, a separate feature mentioned afterwards, not the cause of the forests' appearance. The passage speaks of no flora and fauna abundance in these forests, and says nothing of a cool breeze or of drowsy people.

Answer: A

The river is a boon for the North of India because it is a major source of water supply and power generation.

Paragraph 4 says the river enters the Punjab plains at the Bhakra Dam, 'a major point of water supply and electricity generation for the North of India'. It is also used extensively for irrigation, which adds to the benefit.

The passage never mentions mountain soil and minerals being carried down, and it does not say the prosperity of the whole of India depends on the river; the claim is limited to the North. Aquatic animals are not discussed at all.

Answer: C

Both A and B are true.

Statement A: paragraph 1 calls the Kangri Karchok 'the Kailash Purana of the Tibetans' and speaks of 'this holy book', so it is a holy book of the Tibetans. Statement B: paragraph 3 says the river, after entering Himachal Pradesh, is responsible for the rich cultivation of grapes, apples and apricots along its banks, and these are fruits of various types grown in Himachal Pradesh.

Since both statements follow from the passage, the options calling either one false, or both false, cannot be right.

Answer: B

'Lake unconquerable' refers to Lake Manasarovar.

Paragraph 1 says the river 'rises from the 'lake unconquerable', the Tso Maphan or Manasarovar'. The phrase is simply an epithet for the lake whose names follow it, so it points to Manasarovar.

Langchen Khambab is the river that rises from the lake, not the lake itself. Lake Rakshatal is not mentioned in the passage, and the Sutlej is the name the river takes after its confluence with the Spiti, not a lake.

Answer: C

According to the Kangri Karchok, the river does not flow very gently through the hills.

The other three options are stated in paragraph 1: the river has 'sands of gold', it 'circles the holy Manasarovar seven times', and it is described as a 'cold river'. The passage presents the river as mighty, one that cuts across ranges and creates a terrifying gorge, and never as a gently flowing one, so this is the item the holy book does not support. The question is answered by elimination on the printed statements; the passage does not use the word gently at all.