How to Answer Reading Comprehension

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Unseen Passages
3. Type of Passages
4. Points to Remember
5. Some Smart Tips & Tricks to Score Good in Reading Section
6. Practice Question
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Introduction

Reading is a mental process. It involves looking at the text and then understanding its meaning. Reading a piece of writing more than once ensures a thorough understanding of the text as to interpret its inner meaning. Comprehension in general means 'understanding'. It thus largely depends on the vocabulary skill of a person, with which he is able to understand a given text.

Unseen Passages

Unseen passages are those extracts taken from texts which students are not familiar with. The comprehension capacity of a student can be judged by means of questions based on the passages. The questions may be direct or indirect and for these, the students may be able to find answers from the passage in one reading and interpret them. Sometimes, they may also need to draw an inference and / or to understand how different parts of a text are related to each other, or things they might have already known earlier.

Objectives

The main objectives of a comprehension exercise are to test the student's ability to:

•  develop the local and global understanding of a text
• identify the main subjects of the text
• identify the inferences from  the text
• comprehend and as well express the given ideas in the passage in clear, concise words
• think critically
• derive conclusions by understanding the text .Besides these, exercise also assesses the vocabulary level of students.

Type of Passages

There are three types of passages:

• Factual
• Discursive
• Literary

Factual Passage

• A factual passage is based on some facts already proven by research or known universally. So there is very little scope for drawing out inferences or conclusions in such passages.
• The questions based on the passage may require the students to give short answers - in one or two sentences. Sometimes, it may also be in the form of sentence completion and multiple choice questions. 
• In multiple choice questions, the students may need to read and re-read the passage before choosing the correct option. Sometimes, there may also be questions based on vocabulary. Such questions require the students to have a strong language skill of his/ her level.

Discursive Passage 

• The passage will largely be based on the opinion of the writer. The passage proceeds by reasoning or arguments based on a fact rather than the fact itself. 
• The students' comprehension here is tested by means of short questions - to be required to answer in one or two sentences. There may also be questions based on the vocabulary. 
• The main objective is to test the vocabulary skills of the students in the form of finding the meaning of a word given in the passage, finding the words from the passage from the given meanings, finding the synonyms or antonyms of the words from the passage.

Literary Passage 

• The passage under this category is a piece of writing taken from a literary work of art, like fiction or a novel, or a short story. 
• There is limited scope for personal opinion, but inference may still be required, for whatever the author has written needs to be understood and rewritten in own words for answers.

Points to Remember

• There will be explicit information in the text about the subject dealt with in the passage.
• If the passage is factual, it may be a real-life incident or some information about a place, person, a thing or any thing already known to the students or something new.
• If discursive, the passage may be from a narrative essay, a speech, a realistic fiction or the like.
• There may be the use of figurative language in some parts of the text. It means words or expressions that mean something other than what they state literally. The students need to go deep into the text and relate matters to decipher them.
• The questions are generally in a logical sequence of the text presented in the passage. But some questions require an overall understanding or analysis based on the text.
• Very often the first or the last sentence of a paragraph gives you the main idea of the passage.

Some Smart Tips & Tricks to Score Good in Reading Section

• Read the passage thoroughly; it would give a deeper understanding of the text.
• Underline the relevant details, if need be.
• Write your answers in short, simple sentences.
• Do not pick out the sentences from the passages as they are, without any relevance, for answering the questions.
• A word or phrase that is very much needed may be used from the passage for answering questions.
• While answering 'what', where', 'who', 'when', 'how' questions, do not give facts that are not in the passage.
• While answering the 'why' questions, you may begin your answer with 'This is because...' and avoid repeating the question.
• Use the same parts of speech used in the text for giving your answers.
• If asked to give a title, you can take an idea from the first or last sentence of the passage.
• To find answer to the vocabulary based questions like synonyms etc., replace the given word with the word you have found in the passage, and if you find that it is the same in meaning, your answer is correct.

Practice Question

Read the passage given below:

 The choices we make on a daily basis-wearing a seatbelt, lifting heavy objects correctly or purposely staying out of any dangerous situation-can either ensure our safety or bring about potentially harmful circumstances.
You and I need to make a decision that we are going to get our lives in order. Exercising self-control, self-discipline and establishing boundaries and borders in our lives are some of the most important things we can do. A life without discipline is one that's filled with carelessness.
We can think it's kind of exciting to live life on the edge. We like the image of "Yeah! That's me! Living on the edge! Woo-hoo!" It's become a popular way to look at life. But if you see, even highways have lines, which provide margins for our safety while we're driving. If we go over one side, we'll go into the ditch. If we cross over the line in the middle, we could get killed. And we like those lines because they help to keep us safe. Sometimes we don't even realize how lines help to keep us safe.
I'm not proud of this, but for the first 20 years of my life at work, I ignored my limits. I felt horrible, physically, most of the time. I used to tell myself "I know I have limits and that I've reached them, but I'm going to ignore them and see  how long I can get by with it." I ran to doctors, trying to make myself feel better through pills, vitamins, natural stuff and anything I could get my hands on. Some of the doctors would tell me, "It's just stress." That just made me mad. I thought stress meant you don't like what you do or can't handle life, and I love what I do. But I kept pushing myself, travelling, doing speaking engagements and so on-simply exhausting myself.
Finally, I understood I was living an unsustainable life and needed to make some changes in my outlook and lifestyle.
You and I don't have to be like everyone else or keep up with anyone else. Each of us needs to be exactly the way we are, and we don't have to apologize for it. We're not all alike and we need to find a comfort zone in which we can enjoy our lives instead of making ourselves sick with an overload of stress and pressure.

On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer the following questions that follow:
Q1: The reason why living on the edge has become popular, is because of the: 
(a) constant need for something different
(b) population being much younger
(c) exhausting effort to make changes
(d) strong tendency to stay within our limits
Ans: a
The passage suggests that the excitement and thrill associated with living on the edge contribute to its popularity. The phrase "kind of exciting to live life on the edge" implies a constant need for something different, which aligns with option (a).

Q2: Choose the option that best captures the central idea of the passage from the given quotes:
(a) "Sometimes we don't even realize how lines help to keep us safe."
(b) "You and I don't have to be like everyone else or keep up with anyone else."
(c) "Each of us needs to be exactly the way we are, and we don't have to apologize for it."
(d) "A life without discipline is one that's filled with carelessness."
Ans: c
The central idea of the passage revolves around accepting oneself and not needing to conform to others' expectations. Option (c) "Each of us needs to be exactly the way we are, and we don't have to apologize for it" best encapsulates this idea of individuality and self-acceptance.

Q3: Which of the characteristics are apt about the writer in the following context : "I know I have limits and that I've reached them, but I'm going to ignore them and see if or how long I can get by with it ?" 
1. negligent
2. indecisive 
3. spontaneous
4. reckless 
5. purposeless 
6. patient 
(a) 2 and 5
(b) 3 and 6
(c) 1 and 4
(d) 2 and 3
Ans: c
The writer admits to knowing their limits but choosing to ignore them, which shows recklessness and negligence. Options (1) and (4) are correct because the writer's behavior is both negligent (ignoring limits) and reckless (pushing limits excessively).

Q4: Which of the following will be the most appropriate title for the passage? 
(a) How much is too much?
(b) Enough is enough
(c)  Much too soon
(d) Have enough to do?
Ans: a
The passage discusses the consequences of ignoring personal limits and the need for change. The title "How much is too much?" best reflects the theme of the passage, focusing on the concept of limits and boundaries.

Q5: The phrase "potentially harmful circumstances" refers to circumstances that can: 
(a) certainly be dangerous
(b) be fairly dangerous
(c) be possibly dangerous
(d) seldom be dangerous
Ans: c
"Potentially harmful circumstances" suggests situations that have the possibility of being dangerous but are not necessarily so. Option (c) "be possibly dangerous" accurately captures this meaning.

Q6: The author uses colloquial words such as "yeah" and "Woo-hoo!". Which of the following is NOT a colloquial word? 
(a) hooked
(b) guy
(c) stuff
(d) stress
Ans: d
Colloquial words are informal and conversational. Words like "hooked," "guy," and "stuff" are colloquial, while "stress" is a more formal term and not typically used in informal conversation.

Q7: What does the author mean when he says, "To get our lives in order ?" 
(a) To resume our lives.
(b) To organize our lives.
(c) To rebuild our lives.
(d) To control our lives.
Ans: b
The phrase "to get our lives in order" means to organize or structure our lives properly. This is best represented by option (b) "To organize our lives."

Q8: Choose the option that correctly states the two meanings of 'outlook', as used in the passage. 
1. A person's evaluation of life 
2. A person's experiences in life 
3. A person's point of view towards life 
4. A person's regrets in life 
5. A person's general attitude to life 
(a) (1) and (4)
(b) (2) and (3)
(c) (3) and (5)
(d) (4) and (5)
Ans: c
In the passage, 'outlook' refers to both a person's point of view towards life and their general attitude towards life. Hence, option (c) "A person's point of view towards life" and "A person's general attitude to life" are the correct meanings.

Q9: The author explains the importance of discipline and boundaries in our lives using the example of: 
(a) road accidents
(b) on the highway
(c)  traffic rules lines
(d) safe driving
Ans: b
The author uses the example of "lines on the highway" to illustrate the importance of discipline and boundaries for safety. Therefore, option (b) is correct.

Q10: What is the message conveyed in the last paragraph of the passage? 
(a) Love what you do.
(b) Love yourself to love others.
(c) Be the best version of yourself.
(d) Be yourself.
Ans: d
The last paragraph emphasizes the importance of being true to oneself rather than trying to conform to others. Option (d) "Be yourself" best conveys this message.