Reading Comprehension Passage set 1 for SSC CGL
Reading Comprehension Passage Set 1:
Directions: In She following questions, you have two brief passages with 5 questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives and mark in the answer sheet.
PASSAGE-I
The interview may be conducted by letter and by telephone, as well as in person. Letter and telephone interviews are less satisfactory.
Direct contact with an individual and a face-to-face relationship often provide a stimulating situation for both interviewer and interviewee. Personal reaction and interaction aid not only in rapport but also in obtaining nuances and additional information by the reactions which are more fully observed in a face-to-face relationship.
Adequate preparation for the interview is a "must". Careful planning saves not only time but also energy of both parties concerned. The interview is used to obtain facts or subjective data such as individual opinions, attitudes, and preferences. Interviews are used to check on questionnaires which may have been used to obtain data, or when a problem being investigated is complex, or when the information needed to solve it cannot be secured easily in any other way. People will often give information orally but will not put it in writing.
1. The intention of the writer of this passage is to
(a) warn the readers against conducting interviews
(b) instruct people on the best means of conducting interviews
(c) tell people how to make friends with interviewers
(d) advise people on the use of letters and telephone
2. According to the author the best way to conduct interviews is
(a) to talk, to the interviewees over telephone
(b) to write letters to the interviewees
(c) to observe the interviewees from a distance
(d) to have a direct conversation with the interviewees
3. If I want to interview someone,
(a) all I need to do is to just drop in and have a talk with the person
(b) I ought to plan and prepare for the interview well in advance
(c) I have to ring up the person and ask him/her all the questions I want to
(d) establishing good rapport with the person will be enough
4. Face-to-face interaction with the interviewees enables the interviewer to
(a) understand shades of meaning not readily available in written responses
(b) observe the physical stature of the interviewee
(c) listen to the voice of the interviewee directly
(d) compel the interviewees to express their opinions in writing.
5. The author used 'individual opinions', 'attitudes' and 'preferences' as examples of
(a) objective data about the interviewees
(b) abstract philosophical concepts irrelevant to the interview process
(c) psychological properties particular to a given interviewee
(d) likes and dislikes common to interviewers and interviewees
Answer
1. (b) 2. (d) 3. (b) 4. (a) 5. (c)
PASSAGE-II
Among the natural resources which can be called upon in national plan for development, possibly the most important is human labour. Without productive labour force, including effective leadership and intelligent middle management, no amount of foreign assistance or natural wealth can ensure successful development and modernisation. One essential factor is usually overlooked or ignored. The forgotten factor is the role of women. Development will be handicapped as long as women remain second-class citizens, uneducated, without any voice in family or community decisions, without legal or economic status, married when they are still practically children, and thenceforth producing one baby after another, often only to see half of them die before they are of school age. We can enhance development by improving woman power, by giving women opportunity to develop themselves.
1. The most important natural resource for national development is
(a) human labour
(b) effective leadership
(c) intelligent middle management
(d) foreign assistance
2. Human power means
(a) only men
(b) only women
(c) people including children
(d) both men and women
3. The ignored and overlooked factor in the development of the nation is.
(a) role of women
(b) role of middle management
(c) role of child labour
(d) role of foreign assistance
4. Women have hardly
(a) any voice in family or community decisions
(b) any economic or legal status
(c) any voice in family or community decision or legal or community decision or legal or economic status
(d) any voice to decide about themselves
5. Woman power is
(a) an essential power in the development of the nation
(b) an essential power in child production
(c) an essential power in marriages
(d) an essential power in the death of children
Answer
1. (a) 2. (d) 3. (a) 4. (c) 5. (a)
PASSAGE-III
Vacations were once the prerogative of the privileged few, even as late as the nineteenth century. Now they are considered the right of all, except for such unfortunate masses as in China, for whom life, except for sleep and brief periods of rest, is uninterrupted toil.
They are more necessary now than before because the average life is well rounded and has become increasingly departmentalized., The idea of vacations, as we conceive ii, must be incomprehensible to primitive peoples. Rest of some kind has of course always been a part of the rhythm of human life, but earlier ages did not find it necessary to organise it in the way that modern man has done. Holidays, feast days, were sufficient.
With modern man's increasing tensions, with the useless quality of so much of his work. this break in the year's routine became steadily more necessary. Vacations became necessary for the purpose of renewal and repair.
1. The author's main purpose in this passage is to
(a) explore the history of vacations
(b) tell why vacations have become more common
(c) contrast holiday and festive occasions with vacation
(d) demonstrate that vacations are not really necessary
2. According to the passage, we need vacations now more than ever because we have
(a) a more carefree nature
(b) much more free time
(c) little diversity in our work
(d) a higher standard of living
3. It is implied in the passage that our lives are very
(a) habitual
(b) patriotic
(c) varied
(d) independent
4. As used in the passage the word 'prerogative' (line 1) most nearly means
(a) habit
(b) privilege
(c) request
(d) hope
5. The contemporary attitude towards vacations is best expressed by which the following proverbs?
(a) A penny saved is a penny earned.
(b) The devil finds work for idle hand
(c) All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
(d) Many hands make light work
Answer
1. (b) 2. (c) 3. (a) 4. (b) 5. (c)
PASSAGE-IV
In an effort to produce the largest, fastest and most luxurious ship afloat, British built the S.S. Titanic. It was so superior to anything else on the seas that it was dubbed 'unsinkable'. So sure of this were the owners that they provided only twenty life boats and rafts, less than one-half the number needed for the 2,227 passengers on board.
Many passengers were aboard the night it rammed an iceberg only two days at sea and more than halfway between England and its New York destination. Because the luxury liner was travelling so fast, it was impossible to avoid the ghostly looking iceberg. An unextinguished fire also contributed to the ship's submersion. Panic increased number of casualties as people jumped into the icy water or fought to be among the few to board the life boats. Four hours after the mishap, another ship, the Carpathia, rescued 705 survivors.
The infamous S.S. Titanic had enjoyed only two days of sailing glory on its maiden voyage in 1912 before plunging into 12,000 feet of water near the coast of Newfoundland where it lies today.
1. All of the following are true except that
(a) only a third of those aboard perished.
(b) the Carpathia rescued the survivors.
(c) the S.S. Titanic sank near Newfoundland.
(d) the S.S. Titanic was the fastest ship afloat in 1912.
2. All of the following contributed to the large death toll except
(a) panic
(b) fire
(c) speed
(d) the Carpathia
3. How many days was the S.S. Titanic at sea before sinking?
(a) 2
(b) 4
(c) 6
(d) 12
4. "Maiden voyage" is closest in meaning to
(a) inaugural
(b) most elegant
(c) longest
(d) final
5. What does this passage convey?
(a) The S.S Titanic proved itself the most seaworthy vessel in 1912.
(b) Attempts to rescue the S.S. Titanic's survivors were not successful.
(c) Overconfidence by builders and owners was greatly responsible for the sinking of the vessel.
(d) A fire and panic were the only causes for the sinking of the ship.
Answer
1. (a) 2. (d) 3. (a) 4. (a) 5. (c)
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Reading Comprehension Passage set 1 for SSC CGL
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