2. What is Reading?
“Reading is more than seeing words clearly, more
than pronouncing words correctly, more than
recognizing the meaning of isolated words.
Reading requires to think, feel and imagine.”
Rapid Reading Made Simple
Wainwrght .G.R (1979)
Reading efficiently means:
"Understanding pages of print accurately, rapidly
and enjoyably. "
3. Comprehension Tactics
Locate the key sentence to anticipate
what the passage will be about
First read the passage
Then read the questions
4. When asked to make inferences ,
base your answer on what the passage
implies , not what it states directly
Determine the area of the answer
When asked to choose a title , avoid the
choices that are too specific or too random
5. When asked about an attitude , mood or
tone , look for words that convey emotions,
express values or paint beliefs
Remember……… picking one option
means dropping the others
6. Kinds Of Comprehension
Passage comprehension
Extract comprehension
Sentence comprehension
Word comprehension
7. PRACTICE ONE . . . .
PASSAGE COMPREHENSION
Each passage below is followed by a set of questions ; you are to ENCIRCLE
the correct answer from the choices given with each question .
PASSAGE 1
One major cause of slow reading is that sometimes you don’t
focus . Your eyes keep moving down the page , but your mind is
out to lunch . Then bang ! you wake up from your day dream
and say “Hay! What was I reading? ” And your eyes jump back
to an earlier spot on the page and you wind up , rereading the
whole thing . Obviously , regressing _going back and rereading
the words or whole passages you’ve supposedly read , slows you
down . Regressing , is a habit , but like any other habit you can
break it .
8. . The best possible title of the passage is
(A) Causes of slow reading
(B) How to avoid regressing
(C) Regressing slows down reading
. The phrase “your mind is out to lunch” in the passage implies that
A. your mind is at rest
B. you are mentally not present
C. you are hungry and want to have lunch
9. PASSAGE 2
Precipitation , commonly referred to as rainfall , is a measure of the
quantity of water in the form of either rain , hail , or snow which
reaches the ground . The average annual precipitation over the whole of
the United States is thirty-six inches . It should be understood however ,
that a foot of snow is not equal to a foot of precipitation . A general
formula for computing the precipitation of snowfall is that ten inches of
snow is equal to one inch of precipitation .In New York State , for
example , twenty inches of snow in one year would be recorded as only
two inches of precipitation . Forty inches of rain would be recorded as
forty inches of precipitation . The total annual precipitation would be
recorded as forty-two inches . The amount of precipitation is a combined
result of several factors . Location, altitude and proximity to the sea are
the most important causes . In some places on the other hand, as in
United States , most of the precipitation is brought by prevailing winds
from the Pacific Ocean and the Great Lakes along the Pacific Coast ,
however , height also causes some diversity in rain fall .
10. 1 . What does this passage mainly discuss?
(A) Precipitation (B) Snowfall
(C) New York State (D) Computation of Precipitation
2 . Which of the following is another word that is often used in place of
Precipitation?
(A) Humidity (B) Wetness
(C) Rainfall (D) Quantity of water
3 . The term Precipitation includes
(A) only rain fall (B) rain , hail , and humidity
(C) rain , snow and humidity (D) rain , hail ,and humidity
4 . What is the average annual rainfall in inches in the United States ?
(A)thirty-six inches (B) thirty-eight inches
(C)forty inches (D) forty-two inches
5 . If a state has forty inches of snow in a year , by how much does this increase the
annual precipitation ?
(A) by two feet (B) by four inches
(C) by four feet (D) by forty inches
6 . Which factors affect the amount of precipitation ?
(A) altitude, location, proximity to the sea (B) location, rainfall, proximity to the sea,
altitude
(C) altitude, winds, proximity to the sea (D)location ,proximity to the sea ,winds
,height
11. PRACTICE TWO……..
EXTRACT COMPREHENSION
DIRECTIONS: Follow the question with each extract/statement and
encircle the best choice among the listed alternatives.
EXTRACT- ONE
Starting in 1955, all workers had to wear steel helmets if
they were employed in the construction industry .
From which of the following can the statement above be properly inferred?
(A) No workers had to wear steel helmets before 1955, but all workers had to wear them
after 1955.
(B) Construction industry workers were the first to be required to wear steel helmets.
(C) Construction industry workers had to wear steel helmets prior to 1955.
(D) Some workers may have worn steel helmets before 1955, but all construction workers
were required to wear them beginning in 1955.
(E) Workers may have worn some type of helmet before 1955, but later all had to wear
steel-type helmets.
12. EXTRACT- TWO
2. By far the chief export in the 15th century was textiles. Among
these woolens predominated, linens were far less important and
silks played an insignificant part. Outside this group, the only
important item, in the first half of the century was corn, though the
exports of fish, lead and tin were by no means negligible.
Given the above information which of the following statements is correct?
Corn, though not as important an export as textiles, was still an important
component of the
export trade.
(B) Corn was nearly as important an export as linen.
(C) Silk was a valuable export in the 15th century.
(D) Fishing was a bigger industry than wool production in the 15th century.
(E) Non textile items were one of the chief elements in the list of products
exported in the 15th century.
13. PRACTICE THREE . . . .
SENTENCE COMPREHENSION
PART-A
With each sentence below there is an underlined phrase/clause followed by four
answer choices . You are to ENCIRCLE the option that best replaces the
underlined text .
I . If one begins to smoke at an early age , it is likely that one will go on
smoking further.
(A) it is likely that he will go on smoking in future .
(B) it is hard to stop one from smoking more .
(C) one is likely to continue smoking .
(D) one will probably have a tendency to continue smoking .
2 . The aircraft could not take off ; it was all because of poor visibility.
(A) because nothing could be seen.
(B) because nothing could be seen at long distances.
(C) because things were not clearly visible.
(D) because things at long distances were all invisible.
14. 3 . He maintained that his scholastic record was better than or at least as good as
hers.
(A) was good or better as hers.
(B) was better or at least as good as hers.
(C) was at its least as good as hers.
(D) none of the above
4 . We’d better allow plenty of time for the journey in case there are traffic hold-
ups.
(A) due to traffic hold-up reasons.
(B) for the reason that there are traffic hold-ups.
(C) because there may be traffic hold-ups
(D) because there is the case of traffic hold-ups .
5.The compulsive urge to unburden myself became so overwhelming that I had to
break my promise of not telling about Albert’s critical situation.
(A) The obsessive desire to free myself
(B) The compelling need to unburden myself
(C) The pressurizing need to unburden myself
(D) The compulsory desire to free myself
6. His inclination to obesity might hinder his way.
(A) His affection
(B) His liking
(C) His fondness
(D) His tendency
15. PART – B
Each sentence below is followed by four choices ; you are to ENCIRCLE the
option that best replaces the original text .
1 . The stranger was affable , well-mannered and keen-witted .
(A) The stranger was affable , with good manners and a keen wit .
(B) The well-mannered and keen witted stranger was affable .
(C) The stranger was easy to speak to , had good manners and a keen wit .
(D) The stranger was affable , having good manners and a keen wit .
2 . Low blood sugar is no more a disorder of unknown origin.
(A) Low blood sugar is a disorder ; its causes are not known.
(B) Low blood sugar is a disorder ; its causes are no more hidden
(C) Low blood sugar is a disorder that has its own causes
(D) Low blood sugar is a disorder and its causes are known.
16. 3 . This habit makes you susceptible to disease
(A) Only because of this habit you will catch the disease.
(B) you are likely to catch disease because of this habit.
(C) You will catch this disease because of the habit.
(D) You can save yourself if you give up this habit.
4 . Iqbal’s poetry will always be admired.
(A) Iqbal’s poetry will always be read.
(B) Iqbal’s poetry will always be recited
(C) Iqbal’s poetry will always be venerated.
(D) Iqbal’s poetry will always be repeated.
5 . The phenomenon of public education is another example of the workings of
democracy.
(A) The phenomena of public education is another example of the workings of
democracy.
(B) The phenomena of public education is yet another example of democracy at
work.
(C) The phenomenon of public education is another example of democracy at work.
(D) Public education, a phenomena, is another working example of democracy.
17. PART –C
ENCIRCLE the option that best reflects the meaning of the sentence .
1 . When television is good , nothing is better ; but when television is bad nothing
is worse.
(A) Television is a good invention.
(B) Television is a bad invention.
(C) The writer stresses the need for quality programs.
(D) The writer admires television programs.
2. My watch is 8 minutes slow and my train goes at 10:45 a.m but it is 5 minutes
late. I got to the station at 10:45 a.m by my watch.
(A) I am just in time .
(B) I missed the train by 3 minutes.
(C) I have to wait for 13 minutes.
(D) I have to wait for 3 minutes.
3 . Which of the following statements is the most appropriate?
(A) Only winter brings really pleasant weather to the people of Pakistan.
(B) Winter only brings really pleasant weather to the people of Pakistan.
(C) Winter brings only pleasant weather to the people of Pakistan.
(D) Winter really brings pleasant weather only to the people of Pakistan.
18. 4 . A day before Monday I told my friend that I would start for Karachi day after
tomorrow and reach there the day after that day. On which day would I reach
Karachi?
(A) Tuesday
(B) Wednesday
(C) Thursday
(D) Friday
5 . About 20 percent of the total number of American households are single people.
How many single people are identified?
(A) one-third
(B) one-fourth
(C) one-fifth
(D) less than one-tenth
6 . In May 1966, the World Health Organization was authorized to initiate a global
campaign to eradicate smallpox. The goal was to eliminate the disease in one
decade.What was the goal of the campaign against smallpox?
(A) to initiate worldwide projects for diseases like smallpox
(B) to provide mass vaccination against small pox worldwide
(C) to eliminate smallpox worldwide in ten years
(D) to decrease the spread of smallpox worldwide
19. PRACTICE FOUR . . . .
WORD COMPREHENSION
Each sentence below has one or more than one blanks followed by four answer choices . You are to ENCIRCLE the
choice that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole .
1. The thieves unable to open the safe, ______ it from its frame.
(A) pulled (B) snatched
(C) wrenched (D) held
2 . When he heard the news of his selection to the college team he felt ______ .
(A) effervescent (B) enamoured
(C) elated (D) embittered
3. His actions had ______ pain and suffering on thousands of ______ people.
(A) imposed (B) inflicted
(C) affected (D) eliminated
4. Her statements were so ______ that we were left in doubt as to her real intentions.
(A) equitable (B) equivocal
(C) dogmatic (D) incisive
5. Spending our money on an expensive restaurant meal will ______ our going to the
movie.
(A) debunk (B) evoke
(C) concede (D) preclude
20. TRY IT NOW………
PASSAGE 1 : The effect of science upon our view of man’s
place in the universe has been of two divergent kinds ; it has at
once besmirched and exalted him .The latter effect is generally
assumed as outweighing the former. This assumption can be
justified through varied kinds of favorable effects that science
has earned . There are direct intellectual effects ___ the
dispelling of many traditional beliefs , and the adoption of others
suggested by the success of scientific method . Then there are
technical effects___ the advancement in industry and war. Still
then , there are profound effects on human health ___
remarkable decrease in death rate owe its existence to wonderful
medicines. Though the future effects of science are yet a matter
of conjecture ; the study of its effects hitherto may make the
conjecture complimentary
21. 1. How has science affected man?
(A) It has degraded and deprived man at the same time.
(B)It has at once dishonored and tainted man.
(C)It has debased and dignified man at the same time.
(D)It has at once high-ranked and glorified man.
2. The nature of the direct intellectual effects of science on
man imply
(A) the dismissing of many traditional beliefs.
(B) the embracing of many traditional beliefs.
(C) the approval of many traditional beliefs.
(D) the implementation of many traditional beliefs.
3. The writer’s mode of approach is
(A) emotional (C) expository
(B) descriptive (D) logical
22. 4. Which of the following is true according to the passage.
(A) The future effect of science is yet a matter of supposition.
(B) The future effect of science is yet a matter of suggestion.
(C) The future effect of science is yet a matter of analysis.
(D) The future effect of science is yet a matter of reasoning.
5. The phrase ‘ the study of its effects hitherto’ means
(A) the study of its effects in future
(B) the study of its effects described here
(C) the study of its effects up till now
(D) the study of its effects hereby
6. The most appropriate title of the passage is
(A) The advantages and disadvantages of science
(B) The impact of science on man
(C) Achievements of science
(D) Science __ a great boon for man