Reading Comprehension

A short passage, which may be a single paragraph, is followed by items on what it states, what it implies, what its main point is, what a word means in it, or which statement it supports. The answer is decided by the passage, not by what the reader knows or believes about the topic. A wrong option may be a sentence that is true in the world, or plausible, but is not supported by the text; others overstate what the text says by changing "some" to "all" or "may" to "will".

A reading method, a classification of the question types, and a way to test each option against the passage are set out. The passages in the worked examples are written for the method; any town names in them are invented.

Signal words show how sentences relate and where the main claim is.

Options differ from the text by changing its strength. Match the strength exactly.

Passage A. "Three years ago, the town of Sunderpur closed its main market street to cars on weekends. Shopkeepers had feared that sales would fall, since many customers arrived by car. Instead, the town's survey found that weekend footfall on the street rose by a quarter, and most shopkeepers reported higher weekend sales. Critics point out that the same years saw a rise in tourism across the region, so the closure may not be the only reason. Even so, the council now plans to extend the closure to weekdays."

Example 1 (main idea). Which option best states the main idea? (a) Tourism in the region increased. (b) Closing a street to cars on weekends was followed by more footfall and sales, though the cause is debated. (c) Shopkeepers always oppose changes to traffic. (d) Cars are harmful to towns. Answer: (b). (a) is one detail; (c) overgeneralises one fear; (d) is not stated.

Example 2 (detail). By how much did weekend footfall change? The passage says it "rose by a quarter", that is, by 25 percent.

Example 3 (inference). Which can be inferred? (a) Every shopkeeper's sales rose. (b) The shopkeepers' fear about sales was, for most of them, not borne out. (c) The closure alone caused the rise in footfall. (d) The council will close the street on weekdays next year. Answer: (b). "Most shopkeepers reported higher weekend sales" supports it. (a) changes most to every; (c) is what the critics question; (d) turns "plans" into a certainty with an invented date.

Example 4 (assumption). The council's plan to extend the closure assumes what? That the weekend result will also hold on weekdays (for example, that weekday customers will not be lost in larger numbers). If weekday customers mostly drive to work and shop on the way, the plan is weakened.

Example 5 (weaken). Which fact most weakens the claim that the closure raised footfall? (a) Similar streets that stayed open to cars in the same region saw the same rise in footfall. (b) Some customers walk to the market. Answer: (a). If streets without the closure rose just as much, the closure explains little; (b) is consistent with the passage either way.

Passage B. "The new library catalogue was meant to make finding books easier. Its search box, however, accepts only exact titles, so a reader who remembers a single word of a title finds nothing. The old card index was slow, but it was forgiving: one could browse nearby cards and stumble on the right book. The designers, it seems, solved the wrong problem."

Example 6 (tone). The author's attitude to the new catalogue is best described as: (a) enthusiastic, (b) critical, (c) neutral, (d) nostalgic only. Answer: (b). "However", "finds nothing" and "solved the wrong problem" are evaluative and negative. (d) is too narrow: the author values one feature of the old index but the passage criticises the new design.

Example 7 (vocabulary in context). In "it was forgiving", forgiving most nearly means: (a) merciful, (b) tolerant of imprecise searching, (c) kind, (d) generous. Substituting into the sentence, the index tolerated a reader's vague memory: (b). The everyday sense (merciful) does not fit a card index.

Example 8 (purpose). Why does the author mention the old card index? To give a contrast showing what the new catalogue lacks: tolerance of partial information.

Passage C. "A college library surveyed 400 students about its new late-night hours. Sixty percent of them said they had used the library after 10 p.m. at least once, and half of those users said they now study there more often than in their rooms. The library concludes that the late hours have improved students' study habits. However, the survey was carried out in the week before examinations, when most students study more than usual, and it did not ask the students who stayed away why they did so."

Example 9 (numbers inside a passage). How many of the surveyed late-night users said they now study in the library more often than in their rooms? Users: 60 percent of 400 = 240. Half of them: 120. An option of 200 (half of all 400) applies "half" to the wrong group.

Example 10 (EXCEPT question). Each of the following weakens the library's conclusion EXCEPT: (a) Students study more in examination week regardless of library hours. (b) Students who used the library late were already the most studious before the new hours. (c) Students who studied in the library late at night later reported better concentration than before. (d) The survey did not cover a normal week. Answer: (c). It supports the conclusion. (a) and (d) attack the timing; (b) offers an alternative cause (the late users were already the most studious). In an EXCEPT question, mark each option "weakens" or "not", and choose the odd one.

Example 11 (which cannot be inferred). Which of these CANNOT be inferred? (a) At least 160 surveyed students had not used the library after 10 p.m. (b) Thirty percent of all respondents were late-night users who also reported studying in the library more often than in their rooms. (c) Most students prefer the library to their rooms. Answer: (c). (a) follows: 40 percent of 400 is 160. (b) follows: the 120 late-night users with the stated library-versus-room study frequency are 30 percent of all 400 respondents. (c) generalises that subgroup to "most students" and changes reported frequency into preference. The passage does not give the corresponding study frequency for the other 160 respondents.

Example 12 (best title). Best title: (a) "Late Hours, Early Conclusions", (b) "How to Study for Examinations", (c) "Libraries in India", (d) "Why Students Prefer Their Rooms". Answer: (a). A title must cover the main point (a conclusion drawn too fast from a survey); (b) and (c) are too broad, and (d) states something the passage does not.

Example 13 (author's view). With which statement would the author most likely agree? (a) The late hours have certainly failed. (b) The survey cannot by itself show that study habits improved. Answer: (b). The author questions the evidence, not the policy; (a) overstates in the opposite direction.