Reading Comprehension Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The true statement is 20 members from the Union Territories are chosen by direct election and 2 from the Anglo-Indian Community are nominated by the President.

The excerpt says the House is made up of representatives chosen by direct election, with 20 members representing the Union territories, and that 2 members are to be nominated by the President from the Anglo-Indian Community.

The options saying the Anglo-Indian members are chosen by direct election contradict the excerpt, which says they are nominated, so 'None of the above' is also wrong.

Answer: B

The term can be extended by the Parliament.

The excerpt states that while a proclamation of emergency is in operation, the five-year term 'may be extended by the Parliament by law for a period not exceeding one year at a time', and not beyond six months after the proclamation ends.

The President proclaims the emergency but does not extend the term; elections choose members, they do not extend a House's life; so the President and direct election are wrong, and 'None of the above' is ruled out.

Answer: A

The true statement is the mandate of people is important for formation of Government in the Lok Sabha.

The excerpt says that after every election the President invites the party or alliance with the majority of newly elected members to form the Government. The majority comes from the people's votes, so the popular mandate decides who forms the Government.

The majority does not act on its own: it is invited by the President, which rules out the second statement. The term can be extended during an emergency, which rules out the third. So 'None of the above' is also wrong.

Answer: D

The journey makes us realize that much of the world remains to be explored.

The passage's first sentence says so directly: the journey to the deepest point on the Earth makes us realize how much of the world still remains to be explored.

The passage never calls the trip difficult or the officers courageous, and it says nothing about drawing a map of the ocean, so the other three options add ideas the passage does not state.

Answer: A

A bathyscaphe is a small steel ball.

The second sentence says the two men went down inside a small steel ball called a 'bathyscaphe'. The petrol tank sat above the ball and is not the bathyscaphe itself.

A mothership, a small boat and a raft are never mentioned in the passage; the men travelled inside the ball, not on or beside any boat.

Answer: B

The officers went down to find out life at the bottom of the sea.

The passage says they went down to find out if there are any ocean currents or signs of life, which is the purpose in option B.

Digging out dead sea creatures and hunting sea creatures are not stated purposes. Measuring the depth is not given as a reason either; the seven miles are mentioned only as how far down they went.

Answer: C

The petrol was emptied slowly to make the bathyscaphe heavy.

The passage says the tank of petrol was slowly emptied into the water to make the bathyscaphe heavy enough to complete its journey. As the petrol left, the craft became heavier and sank.

The petrol is not described as fuel for the ball, as protection from fire or as a way of holding the ball in place, so options A, B and D go beyond the passage.

Answer: D

The purpose of the journey was exploration.

The opening sentence ties the journey to how much of the world still remains to be explored, and the men went down to look for ocean currents and signs of life. That is exploration.

Adventure for fun, aqua-sports and a pleasure trip all describe a trip taken for enjoyment, which the passage never suggests; it presents the descent as a scientific voyage.

Answer: C

The statement means that a good book can be included among the best of friends of mankind.

'May be among the best of friends' says a good book belongs in the group of the best friends. The passage goes on to say that a book is patient and cheerful, and does not desert us in adversity, so it is a friend of that kind.

Option A claims no friend can be better, which is stronger than 'among the best'. Option B compares books with good men, which the passage does not do. Option D is about what friends read, which is not what the sentence says.

Answer: D

The passage says a man's choice of books generally reveals his temperament and character.

The opening line says a man is known by the book he reads as well as by the company he keeps, and that there is a companionship of books as well as of men. As a man is judged by his companions, he is judged by the books he keeps company with: the books he chooses show what kind of person he is.

Being a scholar, being influenced in thinking and gaining knowledge may all be true of readers, but the passage does not give them as the reason for knowing a man by his books.