Reading Comprehension Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The statement that follows is We do not know of any species other than humans who possess the ability to construct mental worlds.

The passage says 'So far as we know, no other species possesses this ability'. That is a claim about our knowledge, which this option restates exactly.

'No species possess the ability' contradicts the passage, which says humans have it, and also drops the 'so far as we know'. The passage calls imagination, invention and innovation different flavours of the same skill, so they are neither unrelated to one another nor unrelated to constructing mental worlds; that rules out the last two options.

Answer: D

The inference is that in human beings, digestion of dairy milk resulted from a mutated gene.

The passage says the mutations in a particular gene resulted in some people developing the ability to digest dairy milk. That supports this statement directly.

It does not support 'all human beings can digest dairy milk', since only some people developed the ability, nor 'no human being can', since some did. Nothing in the passage says digesting milk is essential for humans.

Answer: C

The correct inference is Humans engage in altruism due to group identification but not empathy.

The passage says altruism is motivated by social bonding, familiarity and identification of belongingness to a group, and that attributing it to empathy or guilt has been rejected.

So group identification is a motive and empathy is not. The other options each assert a motive the passage rules out: 'due to guilt' and 'due to empathy' contradict the rejection of both, and 'not familiarity' contradicts familiarity being listed as a motive.

Answer: D

The answer is neither (i) nor (ii).

The passage says coding regions, which are read to produce amino acids, make up only about 2% of human DNA. It says nothing about what the non-coding 98% does. Non-coding DNA might still play a part in protein synthesis, for example by regulating it, so (i) cannot be inferred with certainty.

Nor does the passage say anything about how well the function of non-coding DNA is understood, so (ii) is not supported either. Both statements go beyond the information given, so options naming (i), (ii) or both are wrong.

Answer: B

The correct inference is wallets with a key are more likely to be returned because people relate to suffering of others.

The passage concludes that the main reason people return wallets is compassion and empathy. A wallet with a key matters more to its owner, who may be locked out, so returning it relieves greater distress. Reading the key result through the passage's own conclusion gives exactly this option.

The passage says wallets with money are returned more often, so it does not show that people 'do not care about money'. It compares wallets in the study with one another, not with wallets that are really lost. And nothing in it supports the claim that money is always more important than keys.

Answer: D

The statement that follows with certainty is Some of Ravi's friends are hardworking and kind.

The passage says that almost all of Ravi's friends were hardworking and kind. If almost all of them are, then at least some of them are, so this statement is guaranteed.

'All of Ravi's friends' overstates 'almost all'. The passage says nothing about people who are not Ravi's friends, so the claim that none of them is hardworking and kind cannot be inferred. And only some of his friends showed a similar disinterest in sports, so 'none of Ravi's friends are interested in sports' goes beyond the information given.

Answer: B

The correct inference is eating healthy can be started at any age, earlier the better.

The passage says it is 'never too early' to start eating healthy and gives the example that babies who eat healthily in their first year tend to have better health later. Together these support starting at any age, with an earlier start being better.

Nothing in the passage restricts the benefit to people already in good health, so the first option is unsupported. It does not compare how strongly diet and health are correlated at different ages, and it does not say healthy eating matters more for adults than for children; if anything it stresses an early start.

Answer: A

The best summary is Thorough regimentation was the main reason for the efficiency of the Roman legions even in adverse circumstances.

The passage says discipline kept units obedient, intact and fighting even when the odds and conditions were against them. Regimentation is strict discipline, and the option restates that effect.

The passage calls the discipline brutal but says nothing about the men being treated as animals. 'Legacies' in the passage means what the legions left behind, not what they inherited from seniors. And the passage says discipline helped despite adverse odds; it does not say the discipline caused those odds, so the last option reverses cause and effect.

Answer: C

The passage describes allurement leading to Simmy's dilemma about stealing.

The cookies tempt her (allurement), and the whole passage is about her inner struggle 'between survival and ethics', ending with her 'divided between giving in to the demand of hunger or standing by her morals'. That is a dilemma about whether to steal.

She never actually steals, so the passage is not about 'negative behaviour' or 'bravery in resorting to theft'. Divine intervention is something she seeks for herself; the passage says nothing about any divine quality of the biscuits.

Answer: B

As author says simply in the first three lines gross ignorance of one and another should be diminished that they should begin to understand a little of one another historical experience and resulting mentality.option B is correct.