Reading Comprehension – Practice Test

“Reading Comprehension” is one of the most important topics when it comes to banking exams. As the name itself suggests, comprehension is a passage given in the question paper and it has to be read thoroughly by the students so as to be able to answer the questions that follow. Generally, this section is a scoring one if one has a good knowledge of vocabulary. 

Basically, the “reading comprehension” section is designed to evaluate one’s ability to read and understand the topic. Comprehension can be designed from any of the topics, for eg., political, economic, science, arts, social, etc. However, the most crucial yet the easiest part of this section is – the answers are found in the comprehension itself, if the reading and grasping ability is good. Always remember, even the most difficult topics can be understood and the trickiest questions can be answered by reading the passage as many times as possible. 

Best Approaches for Reading Comprehension

Subsequently, there can be different approaches to deal with this section in the banking exams. Let’s discuss the most effective approaches for Reading Comprehension:

1. Reading the entire passage & then answering the questions –

In this approach, one should try to read the entire passage once to get a rough idea irrespective of its understanding. Move towards the questions and answer as many questions as possible with the first reading. To answer the remaining questions, follow the same process and read the entire passage again keeping in mind the rest of the questions.

2. Reading the passage into different parts –

This approach involves reading the passage by dividing it into different parts. Begin with the reading of the first paragraph and check how many questions can be answered. Similarly, read the second paragraph and answer all the possible sets of questions. Thus, this approach helps to save the time of reading the passage multiple times.

3. Reading the questions first –

 This approach can be proved to be a smart strategy if one applies it diligently. One should start with reading the questions first and make a rough note of the things asked, if necessary. After reading all the questions, move towards the reading of the passage. While reading, highlight the sentences that appear important to you and also, mark all the possible answers. Consequently, most of the questions would have been answered by now and the remaining questions can be easily answered by the highlighted portions.

To connote, one can either go with any of the above approaches or apply a combination of them. This purely depends on one’s ability to read and grasp things quickly. The more you read the passage, the less time it will take to solve it.

Tips to Improve Reading Comprehension

Besides the above approaches, below are a few tips to help you answer the questions asked in a comprehension:

1. Find Purpose of given passage

While reading the passage, try to figure out the main idea/purpose of the whole passage, for example, what passage covers, in what manner the passage has been designed, and the important information/points involved in it. This will help in answering the questions related to the most suitable title for comprehension.

2. Highlight the critical words

This will help in answering the questions related to antonyms/synonyms. You can easily answer such questions if you have a good vocabulary. In case, your vocabulary is not good, try reading the sentence in which the word is used so as to get a rough idea of its meaning/implication.

3. Select correct option

There will be multiple options for a single question to help you ascertain better and select the correct one.  

4. Practice More Problems

Practice as much as you can. It is the key to gaining command over comprehension.

5. Examine the concepts

Examine the contents of the passage hastily.

6. Don’t Assume

Do not apply your own knowledge and assumption to the facts of the passage.  

Reading Comprehension Example

Following is an example of the topic- Reading Comprehension:

A bankruptcy court has directed a resolution professional to assess whether personal insolvency proceedings should start against Rohit Kalra, the former promoter of Rajasi Housing Finance Ltd (RHFL) for recovering ₹ 4,512 crore in dues to the State Bank of India.

Experts said that Rohit Kalra’s likely insolvency would be one of the high-profile personal bankruptcy cases, such as that against Vijay Mallya, to reach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

Consequently, this case would have a bearing on the personal insolvency proceedings against Vijay Mallya, the owner of Kingfisher airlines. It will be a crucial judgment as it could decide the fates of several other defaulting promoters, too.

Lender claims against Rohit Kalra are expected to cross ₹ 25,000 crore. The Delhi NCLT has appointed Sudesh Mehta as the resolution professional. Mehta will now verify the claims made by the SBI. He will recommend to the NCLT whether to initiate individual insolvency proceedings against Rohit Kalra.

Rohit was arrested on 4th April 2020 when a district court convicted him of money laundering. After spending 10 months in a private hospital, the CBI court ordered that Wadhawan be shifted out of Lilamani Hospital to the Tihar prison. Last week, the Delhi High Court ordered and directed Tihar jail to take him to Lilamani Hospital for surgery.

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions below:

A) According to the passage, Rohit Kalra has been convicted of which of the following cases?

i) He has been convicted of a murder case of one of his personal executives.

ii) He has been convicted of a fraud scam of government jobs.

iii) He has been convicted of a money laundering case.

iv) He has been convicted of a drug scam case with a big pharma company.

Answer: iii) He has been convicted of a money laundering case.

B) What should be the most suitable title for the above passage?

i) Rohit Kalra – the Corporate Culprit 

ii) Gloomy Days in Kingfisher

iii) The Corrupt turned Insolvent Owner

iv) Money Laundering with SBI

Answer: i) Rohit Kalra – the Corporate Culprit 

C) Which among the following is a correct statement for money laundering as per the facts of the above passage?

I. Concealing the source of illegally obtained money

II. Converting black money into white money

III. Mere default in repaying the money

i) All statements are false

i) Only statement II is true

iii) Only statement I is true

iv) Both statements I and II are true

Answer: iv) Both statements I and II are true

D) Which is the most suitable antonym for “conviction”?

i) judgement

ii) sentence

iii) acquittal

iv) arrest

Answer: iii) acquittal

E) Who among the following has been currently dealing with the case of Rohit Kalra?

i) The State Bank of India (SBI)

ii) The Delhi High Court

iii) The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)

iv) District Court

Answer: iii) The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)

Reading Comprehension Practice Test

Reading Comprehension Practice Test | Set 1
Reading Comprehension Practice Test | Set 2
Reading Comprehension Practice Test | Set 3
Reading Comprehension Practice Test | Set 4
Reading Comprehension Practice Test | Set 5