Reading Comprehension Quiz: English Passage Practice

Spoilers! These are the Starter quiz’s answers. Easy, Medium, Hard and Mixed rounds show their own answers when you finish.

1. Passage: Street vendors are often seen as a nuisance by city planners, who blame them for crowded footpaths. Yet for millions of urban households they are the cheapest source of fresh vegetables, snacks and quick repairs. Many vendors work fourteen-hour days and earn barely enough to survive. Instead of evicting them, some cities have marked vending zones with water and lighting. These zones keep footpaths clear while protecting a livelihood the city itself depends on. Question: What is the main idea of the passage?

   • Street vendors should be removed from all footpaths.
   • Street vendors earn more than most urban workers.
   • Cities can manage street vending in a way that helps both vendors and residents.
   • City planners have no role in managing footpaths.

   Answer: Cities can manage street vending in a way that helps both vendors and residents.. The passage weighs the nuisance against the service vendors provide and ends with vending zones that serve both; that balanced solution is the main idea.

2. Passage: Street vendors are often seen as a nuisance by city planners, who blame them for crowded footpaths. Yet for millions of urban households they are the cheapest source of fresh vegetables, snacks and quick repairs. Many vendors work fourteen-hour days and earn barely enough to survive. Instead of evicting them, some cities have marked vending zones with water and lighting. These zones keep footpaths clear while protecting a livelihood the city itself depends on. Question: According to the passage, why do city planners object to street vendors?

   • They sell poor-quality goods.
   • They do not pay taxes.
   • They work very long hours.
   • They crowd the footpaths.

   Answer: They crowd the footpaths.. The first sentence says planners blame vendors for crowded footpaths. Long hours are mentioned, but not as the planners' complaint.

3. Passage: Street vendors are often seen as a nuisance by city planners, who blame them for crowded footpaths. Yet for millions of urban households they are the cheapest source of fresh vegetables, snacks and quick repairs. Many vendors work fourteen-hour days and earn barely enough to survive. Instead of evicting them, some cities have marked vending zones with water and lighting. These zones keep footpaths clear while protecting a livelihood the city itself depends on. Question: The phrase 'a livelihood the city itself depends on' suggests that

   • vendors depend entirely on the city's help
   • the city benefits from the services vendors provide
   • vendors are paid by the city government
   • the city earns money by taxing vendors

   Answer: the city benefits from the services vendors provide. The passage says households rely on vendors for cheap food and repairs, so the city needs the vendors' work.

4. Passage: Sleep is not merely rest for the body. During sleep, the brain strengthens the memories formed during the day. Students who give up sleep to study late often find that they remember less, not more. Lack of sleep also slows reaction time, which is why tired drivers are a danger on the road. Doctors therefore suggest a fixed bedtime and a screen-free hour before going to bed. Question: Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

   • Studying late at night always improves marks.
   • Deep sleep is needed only by drivers.
   • Screens help the brain store memories.
   • Giving up sleep to study may be counterproductive.

   Answer: Giving up sleep to study may be counterproductive.. Students who give up sleep 'remember less, not more', so sacrificing sleep can defeat its own purpose. The other options contradict or go beyond the text.

5. Passage: Sleep is not merely rest for the body. During sleep, the brain strengthens the memories formed during the day. Students who give up sleep to study late often find that they remember less, not more. Lack of sleep also slows reaction time, which is why tired drivers are a danger on the road. Doctors therefore suggest a fixed bedtime and a screen-free hour before going to bed. Question: The word 'merely' as used in the passage most nearly means

   • only
   • mainly
   • rarely
   • partly

   Answer: only. 'Not merely rest' means 'not only rest': sleep does more than rest the body.

6. Passage: Sleep is not merely rest for the body. During sleep, the brain strengthens the memories formed during the day. Students who give up sleep to study late often find that they remember less, not more. Lack of sleep also slows reaction time, which is why tired drivers are a danger on the road. Doctors therefore suggest a fixed bedtime and a screen-free hour before going to bed. Question: Why does the author mention tired drivers?

   • To show that driving causes sleeplessness
   • To argue that students should not drive
   • To give an example of the danger of slowed reaction time
   • To prove that drivers sleep less than students

   Answer: To give an example of the danger of slowed reaction time. The drivers illustrate the point just made: lack of sleep slows reaction time, which is dangerous.

7. Passage: When the village pond dried up, the women of Rampur did not wait for outside help. They formed a group, collected small sums from every family and hired a digger to remove years of silt. The men joined in once the work began. By the next monsoon the pond held water again, and the wells around it filled up. Officials who visited later called it a model project, though the villagers had asked them for nothing. Question: Who started the effort to revive the pond?

   • The women of the village
   • The men of the village
   • Government officials
   • A private company

   Answer: The women of the village. The women formed the group and collected money; the men joined only once the work began.

8. Passage: When the village pond dried up, the women of Rampur did not wait for outside help. They formed a group, collected small sums from every family and hired a digger to remove years of silt. The men joined in once the work began. By the next monsoon the pond held water again, and the wells around it filled up. Officials who visited later called it a model project, though the villagers had asked them for nothing. Question: According to the passage, what made the pond hold water again?

   • Heavy rain alone
   • The removal of silt from the pond
   • A new canal from the river
   • Water brought in by tankers

   Answer: The removal of silt from the pond. The villagers hired a digger to remove years of silt; by the next monsoon the pond held water.

9. Passage: When the village pond dried up, the women of Rampur did not wait for outside help. They formed a group, collected small sums from every family and hired a digger to remove years of silt. The men joined in once the work began. By the next monsoon the pond held water again, and the wells around it filled up. Officials who visited later called it a model project, though the villagers had asked them for nothing. Question: The author's attitude towards the villagers is best described as

   • critical
   • indifferent
   • sarcastic
   • admiring

   Answer: admiring. The passage praises their self-reliance, noting that officials called it a model project though the villagers had asked for nothing.

10. Passage: When the village pond dried up, the women of Rampur did not wait for outside help. They formed a group, collected small sums from every family and hired a digger to remove years of silt. The men joined in once the work began. By the next monsoon the pond held water again, and the wells around it filled up. Officials who visited later called it a model project, though the villagers had asked them for nothing. Question: Which title best suits the passage?

    • How Rampur Revived Its Pond
    • Government Schemes for Villages
    • The Dangers of Silt
    • Why Wells Run Dry

    Answer: How Rampur Revived Its Pond. The passage is about how the villagers brought their pond back to life; the other titles are too broad or focus on a minor detail.