Reading Comprehension Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Desire of something leads to weariness.

The passage says that if someone thinks of 'getting something out of it - money, reward, importance, etc. - then there is only weariness.' Reward is the thing desired rather than the result, and pleasure and fear are not mentioned.

Answer: B

The answer is different.

The passage opens by calling Frederick the Great 'a king with a difference'. It then explains the difference: he was extraordinary, yet he loved to mix with ordinary subjects. 'Different' restates that first sentence.

'Ordinary' contradicts the passage, which says he was extraordinary. 'Pompous' and 'aloof' also contradict it, since a king who mixes with his people in a coffee-house is neither proud in manner nor distant from them.

Answer: B

The answer is mix with ordinary people.

The second sentence says he 'loved to mix with ordinary subjects', and the next says he amused himself daily by mixing with the people.

Mixing with rich people, soldiers only or noblemen is not mentioned anywhere. The point of the opening is that this king, unlike most, preferred the company of common subjects.

Answer: C

The answer is Coffee house.

The passage says he amused himself daily by mixing with the people and 'often going into the coffee-house incognito'. That is where he went for his amusement, and where he met the man he played chess with.

A cinema hall, a banquet hall and a conference hall are not named in the passage. The only places mentioned are the coffee-house and the opera.

Answer: D

The answer is Chess.

The passage states that he met a person 'with whom he played a game of chess'. The king lost and wished to play another game, which is why he tried to keep the stranger from leaving for the opera.

Badminton, polo and golf are not mentioned. The setting of a coffee-house also suits a table game rather than an outdoor sport.

Answer: C

The answer is see the king.

The gentleman, who did not know he was talking to the king, asked to be excused because 'he must go to the opera to see the king'. When asked whether that was his only motive, he answered, 'It really is'.

He did not want to see the queen, who is never mentioned. Listening to music or spending time were not his reason either; he confirmed that seeing the king was his only purpose.

Answer: B

The answer is as a servant.

The first sentence of the passage reads: a poor boy 'was employed at the house of a lady of rank as a servant'.

A driver, a cook and a butler are particular kinds of household staff, but the passage names none of them. It calls him only a servant.

Answer: B

The answer is a lady.

The boy was employed 'at the house of a lady of rank'. The passage later refers to 'the lady's dressing room', which confirms whose house it was.

A shopkeeper, a baron and a knight are not mentioned. A baron and a knight are men with titles, while the passage speaks of a lady of rank.

Answer: B

The answer is a gold watch.

In the dressing room, 'a gold watch, richly set with diamonds, caught his attention and he took it up in his hand'. The wish that followed, 'Ah! if I had such a watch', shows that the watch was what attracted him.

A gold chain, bracelet or earring are not mentioned. The passage names only the watch among the beautiful things in the room.

Answer: B

The answer is a thief.

After a pause the boy says to himself, 'But if I take it, I shall be a thief'. 'It' is the gold watch, so taking it would make him a thief.

He later speaks of becoming a rogue, which is a similar idea, but the question follows the phrase 'a thief' directly. A rich man is what he would appear to be, not what the passage says he would become. A gambler and a policeman are not mentioned.