3 sample comprehension exercise for school students.
Exercise 1
John was decidedly not cheerful. This was not his first interview with a prospective employer. Ever since taking his B.A. degree he had knocked, on many doors, unsuccessfully. Either there was no vacancy or he was not the man for the job. What hope had he of success this time? And he was poor and growing poorer. His father had died long ago. He had only a dim recollectionof a big bearded man, with kind and affectionate eyes, bending over him as he lay sick. But for an uncle (he had died a little before his nephew graduated) he would never have been able to study for his degree. Now the two of them—mother and son—were alone in the world. The mother’s eyes were failing. Needle-work placed too great a strain on them, even if she were able to turn out as good and as much work as she used to do before, (as she was the best needle woman in the district) it did not mean much wages, which had fallen. He must secure a job at any rate.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Read the above given passage and answer the following questions:
1. Why was John not cheerful?
2. Describe the family to which John belonged.
3. Why was John poor and growing poorer still?
ADVERTISEMENTS:
4. What recollection had John of his father?
Glossary: 1. Clearly— undoubtedly, 2. Vacant post, 3. Memory, 4. Bad effect, 5. Payment for work.
Exercise 2
It is said that in modern age, newspapers have great power. It is not only for daily news that we should read newspapers, but also to increase our information and general knowledge. A person who does not know what is going on around him, or in other parts of the world, is like the frog confined to a well. There are good newspapers as well as bad newspapers. We should avoid reading such newspapers which indulge in giving sensational and often untrue reports. We should not support newspapers which try to incite communal friction. Therefore, instead of picking up cheap newspapers here and there, we should read the newspapers supplied in our school library.
Read the above passage carefully and answer the questions:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
What type of newspapers should we avoid and why?
Why do we read newspapers?
Give the passage a suitable title.
Glossary: 1. Describe, 2. News that creates great public excitement, 3. Cause disputes among various communities.
Exercise 3
So far Lincoln grew up in a small world, where life was slow and quiet. In 1882, he got a glimpse of the outside world when he was engaged to take a boat, full of farm produce, to the city of New Orleans. It was a journey of about a thousand miles which was covered in three months. The trip brought him both pleasure and pain. It was a joy for him to see the new world beyond his own, but it also gave him great pain when he saw poor slaves working like beasts of burden for their masters.
Read the above passage and answer the following questions:
1. How was the life of the people of the place where Lincoln was born?
2. Which place did he visit?
3. Why did he go there?
4. What impression did the visit provide?
5. What did he see that gave him joy?
6. What made him sad?
7. Suggest an appropriate title for the passage.