Comprehension

This section (comprehension) is to measure your abilities in understanding reading passages. In order to do so, you can use the techniques like: scanning, skimming and guessing/making inferences. Here are some sample passages, questions and their answers.

Questions will be asked based on the passage given. The questions will try to accommodate 
 the following areas:
 Fact finding, Inferential, Core theme, True/false identification, Issues raised and 
 Language based 

Comprehension Set-1

Read the following passage and choose the correct answer of the questions given below.
The construction of the universe is still mysterious. Scientists from all over the world are trying to investigate about the things they are in existence. The earth is the planet where human beings have been living for long. Therefore the planet, earth is a permanent shelter for the people. Three -fourths of the surface of our planet is occupied by the sea, which together separates and unities the races of manhood. The sea is inordinate highway along which man may journey at his will, the great road that has no walls or hedges stitching it in, and that nobody has to keep it in good repair with the aid of pickaxes and barrels of tar and stream rollers. The sea appeals to man’s love of the perilous and the unknown, to his love of conquest, his love of knowledge and his love of gold. Its green, and grey, and blue, and purple waters call to him and bid him fare forth in quest of fresh fields. Beyond their horizon he has found danger and death, glory and gain. In some great continent s such as America and Australia, there are towns and villages many thousands of miles from the coast, whose children have never seen or heard-or –felt the waves of the sea. But in the British Isles it is nowhere much more than a hundred miles from the most inland spot. The love of the sea is in the very blood of the British people.
Comprehension questions:

1. How much of our planet is not covered by the sea?
   a. One-fourth of the planet.
   b. three-fourths of the planet.
   c. half of the planet.
   d. more than one can measured
2. The sea helps a man:
   a. in building great roads
   b. in making journey at his will all around the world
   c. in clearing hedges hemming the sea –water
   d. in raising walls on the coast.
3. In what ways does the sea appeal to man?
   a. It helps man take lessons from the perilous waves and stay at home.
   b. It bids man to venture out in quest of new places.
   c. It makes man wax eloquent about the futility of adventurous deeds
   d. It invites man to a mass gold hidden under the sea-water.
4. The children have not responded to the call of the sea:
   a. in Great Britain
   b. in remote towns and villages of America
   c. in India
   d. in Nepal
5. The sea has been compared to:
   a. a stream roller
   b. hedges hemming it
   c. the great highway
   d. a spacecraft in motion.

Comprehension Set-2

Read the following passage and choose the correct answer of the questions given below.

Hibernation is one of the main adaptations that allow certain northern animals to survive long, cold winters. Hibernation is like a very deep sleep that allows animals to save their energy when there is little or no food available. The body functions of ‘true hibernators’ go through several changes while they are hibernating. Body temperature drops, and heart rate slows. For example, a Celsius and its heart rate slows from 80 to 4 beats per minute! Other true hibernators include the jumping mouse, little brown bat, eastern chipmunk and several ground squirrels. Other animals such as the skunk and raccoon are not considered true hibernators: as they wake up in the winter to feed, and their body function do not change as much. Since they only sleep for a little bit at a time, the term dormancy or ‘light sleeping’ is used to describe their behavior. The largest animals to hibernate are bears. Their heart rate may slow down from a usual 40-50 beats per minute to 8-12 beats per minute, but their body temperature changes very little, so they are able to wake up quickly. Hibernating animals have a special substance in the blood called hibernation inducement trigger, or HIT. This substance becomes active in the fall, when the days become cooler, and shorter . When HIT becomes active, the animals start preparing for winter. Some animals store food so that they can eat when they wake up , and some animals eat a lot in summer and fall to add excess fat to their bodies. This fat keeps them warmer and acts as a source of energy while they are sleeping. Some animals also make changes to the place where they will sleep (dens). They add leaves and grass to keep them warm.

Choose the correct alternative:
A. Why do animals hibernate?
I. Animals hibernate to survive long.
II. Animals hibernate to adopt to the temperature.
III. Animals hibernate to save energy during the winter when there is little food for
them to eat.
IV. Animals hibernate to take a deep uninterrupted sleep.
B. What changes occur in the functions of an animal’s body when it hibernates?
i. An animal’s body temperature and its heartbeat rise when it is hibernating.
ii. An animal’s body temperature drops and its heartbeats quickens when it is
hibernating.
iii. An animal’s body temperature drops and its heartbeat slows when it is
hibernating.
iv. An animal’s body temperature drops and its heart beat remain constant when it is
hibernating.
C. Why are raccoons and skunks not “true hibernators”
I. Because they wake up in the winter to eat. Additionally, the changes in the
functions of their bodies aren’t as great.
II. Because they sleep for a little bit of time only
III. Because they do not wake up in winter to feed.
IV. Because they feel hungry and get only light sleep.
D. When does HIT become active?
I. HIT becomes active whenever the days become cooler and shorter.
II. HIT becomes active when the hibernating animals feel cold and are short of food.
III. HIT becomes active when winter is in the full swing.
IV. HIT becomes active in the fall, when the days are shorter and the temperature
cooler.
E. How do animals prepare for hibernation?
I. To prepare for hibernation, animals store food , eat a lot to add excess fat to their
bodies and add leaves and grasses to their dens to keep them warm while they
sleep.
II. To prepare for hibernation, animals store food and gather leaves and grasses to
their dens to keep them warm they sleep.
III. To prepare for hibernation, animals store food and eat a lot to add excess fat to
their bodies.
IV. To prepare for hibernation, animals eat a lot to add excess fat to their bodies and
add leaves and grasses to their dens to keep them warm while they sleep

Comprehension Set-2

There are three main groups of oils-animal, vegetable and mineral. Great quantities of animal oil come from whales, creatures of the sea, which are the largest of the animals remaining in the world. To protect the whales from the cold of the Artic seas, nature has provided them with a thick covering of fat, called blubber. When the whale is killed, the blubber is stripped off and boiled down. It produces a great quantity of oil which can be made into food for human consumption. A few other creatures yield oil, but none so much as the whale. The livers of the cod and halibut, two kinds of fish, yield nourishing oil. Both cod liver oil and halibut oil are given to sick children and other invalids who need certain vitamins. Vegetable oil has been known from very old times. No household can get on without it, for it is used in cooking. Perfumes may be made from the oils of certain flowers. Soaps are made from eatable and animal products and the oils of certain flowers.

1. The main source of animal oil, is –
   (A) fish
   (B) whale
   (C) seaweeds
   (D) plants
2. Vegetable oil is mainly used for –
   (A) eating
   (B) cooking
   (C) frying
   (D) lubricating
3. The…….of fish yields nourishing oil.
   (A) liver
   (B) stomach
   (C) eyes
   (D) head
4. The thick protective covering of fat on a whale is called a –
   (A) skin
   (B) cell
   (C) blubber
   (D) fins
5. ……………. are made from vegetable, animal products and the oils of certain flowers.
   • (A) Perfumes
   • (B) Cosmetics
   • (C) Cooking medium
   • (D) Soaps

ANSWERS:
SET-1: A,B,D,B,C
SET-2: C,C,A,D,A
SET-3: B,B,A,C,D