READING
COMPREHENSION
Exercise 16
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Read the passage and answer the questions
Patience is better than wisdom: An ounce of patience is worth a pound of brains. All men
praise patience, but few can practice it. It is medicine which is good for all diseases, but it is
not every garden that grows the herbs to make it with. Many people are born crying, live
complaining and die disappointed. They think every person’s burden to be light and their own
feathers to be heavy as lead, and yet if the truth were known, it is their fancy rather than their
fate that makes thing go so hard with them. Many would be well off they could but think so.
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1) Which one is the most likely explanation, among the following, of the author’s
metaphorical statement that ‘it is not every garden that grows the herb to make it
with’?
a. Patience is a must to solve all our problems in life
b. Patience is a rare herb that cures all diseases
c. Patience is quite difficult to practice
d. It is only a small number of people that are found observing patience in life
2) The writer’s remark ‘they think every person’s burden to be light and their own
feathers to be heavy as lead’ is very significant. It means
a. They are always worried and dejected
b. They consider their own problem to be difficult to solve as compared with problems of other
people
c. They feel that they alone face serious problems while alone have nice time
d. They remain very much worried about their problem
3) The writer’s remark ‘it is their fancy rather than their fate’ means
a. They are unhappy because they think that way and not because it is their destiny
b. They are fatalists rather than imaginative
c. They have a wrong approach to life
d. They have a negative attitude
© 2013 wheresjenny.com
1) Which one is the most likely explanation, among the following, of the author’s
metaphorical statement that ‘it is not every garden that grows the herb to make it
with’?
a. Patience is a must to solve all our problems in life
b. Patience is a rare herb that cures all diseases
c. Patience is quite difficult to practice
d. It is only a small number of people that are found observing patience in life
2) The writer’s remark ‘they think every person’s burden to be light and their own
feathers to be heavy as lead’ is very significant. It means
a. They are always worried and dejected
b. They consider their own problem to be difficult to solve as compared with problems of other
people
c. They feel that they alone face serious problems while alone have nice time
d. They remain very much worried about their problem
3) The writer’s remark ‘it is their fancy rather than their fate’ means
a. they are unhappy because they think that way and not because it is their destiny
b. They are fatalists rather than imaginative
c. They have a wrong approach to life
d. They have a negative attitude
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Read the passage and answer the questions
Journalism combines writing with news gathering and interpretation. While the journalist’s
work obviously varies from newspaper to newspaper and from magazine to magazine, all
journalists are as much as research workers, as they are writers. They cannot write their
news or future stories, unless they locate it and research them first. They must be able to
read the in-between lines of the main source-news and interpret that. A great many stories
hunt the journalist, who rejects most of them. He carefully sorts and sifts those, taking only a
relatively very small proportion of news, may be, coming from an unexpected source. A
successful journalist may gather news to the tune of 100 % but he can use them for his
profession only 3-5 % He must be able to see or forecast to himself, the news for tomorrow
or the day after, from the news of today; because newspapers want advance news or
advance warning to give a good, exclusive and exhaustive courage to anything of interest.
But a real ‘scoop’ is a very rare event. And bogus scoops also brings disrepute to the
newspaper.
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1) According to the passage a journalist’s work includes
a. Writing
b. News gathering
c. Sorting out the news
d. All of the above
2) What according to the passage is the common characteristic of all journalists?
a. They all write for the newspapers
b. They all have to first probe into the news they gather
c. They all make an adventure to find a worthy news
d. They all can forecast future news
3) What is most important for a journalist?
a. He must be able to interpret the news correctly
b. He must know how to sort out the news
c. he must be able to write effectively
d. He must know how to gather the correct news
© 2013 wheresjenny.com
1) According to the passage a journalist’s work includes
a. Writing
b. News gathering
c. Sorting out the news
d. All of the above
2) What according to the passage is the common characteristic of all journalists?
a. They all write for the newspapers
b. They all have to first probe into the news they gather
c. They all make an adventure to find a worthy news
d. They all can forecast future news
3) What is most important for a journalist?
a. He must be able to interpret the news correctly
b. He must know how to sort out the news
c. He must be able to write effectively
d. He must know how to gather the correct news
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4) What does the passage say about the successful journalists?
a. They reject a major portion of the gathered news
b. They can use a relatively small portion of the news
c. Their news comes from unexpected sources
d. They present advance news
5) What is the basic requisite for exclusive and exhaustive coverage of newspapers?
a. Forecast of tomorrow’s news from today’s news
b. Collecting the news of a ‘real scoop’
c. Selection of a small portion of the gathered news
d. Effective style of writing
6) Which of the following do not relate to journalist?
a. Reporter
b. Host
c. Blogger
d. Commentator
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4) What does the passage say about the successful journalists?
a. They reject a major portion of the gathered news
b. They can use a relatively small portion of the news
c. Their news comes from unexpected sources
d. They present advance news
5) What is the basic requisite for exclusive and exhaustive coverage of newspapers?
a. Forecast of tomorrow’s news from today’s news
b. Collecting the news of a ‘real scoop’
c. Selection of a small portion of the gathered news
d. Effective style of writing
6) Which of the following do not relate to journalist?
a. Reporter
b. Host
c. Blogger
d. Commentator
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Read the passage and answer the questions
The Arctic Fox is a small fox found commonly in the arctic regions of the world. Measuring a
little less than three feet in length, this fox is mottled brown in the summer and pure white in
the winter. Adult foxes weigh between six and twenty pounds, though most are closer to six.
Its thick fur coat helps insulate it from the freezing temperatures and windswept snow.
The Arctic Fox is the ultimate survivor. It will east just about anything including insects, small
mammals, birds, ducks, geese, eggs, and even an occasional Snowy Owl. Lemmings, small
mouse-like mammals are its most common prey. In fact, when populations of Lemmings
crash every three or four years, so do populations of foxes. Arctic Foxes will eat berries and
seaweed as well. When food is scarce, Arctic Foxes become scavengers. The Arctic Fox is
sometimes preyed upon by Polar Bears.
Arctic Fox Vixens (female foxes) can give birth to as many as 25 kits (baby foxes) in the
springtime (the largest of any carnivore). Most litters, however, contain between five and
eight kits. Both male and female foxes help take care of the young.
While the Arctic Fox is common throughout much of the Arctic region, it is exceedingly rare in
the Scandinavian nations of Norway, Sweden, and Finland, where populations never
recovered from severe overhunting. In addition, recent movements of the Red Fox into Arctic
Fox territory (probably as a result of global warming) threatens the Arctic Fox population as
well.
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1) What is the main prey of the Arctic Fox?
a. Insects
b. Lemmings
c. Birds
d. Eggs
2) Where would I find information about threats to the Arctic Fox?
a. Concluding paragraph
b. Introductory paragraph
c. Third paragraph
d. Second paragraph
3) Populations of Arctic Foxes rise and fall according to….
a. The population of lemmings
b. The severity of the winter
c. The population of polar bears
d. The warmth of the summer
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1) What is the main prey of the Arctic Fox?
a. Insects
b. Lemmings
c. Birds
d. Eggs
2) Where would I find information about threats to the Arctic Fox?
a. Concluding paragraph
b. Introductory paragraph
c. Third paragraph
d. Second paragraph
3) Populations of Arctic Foxes rise and fall according to….
a. The population of lemmings
b. The severity of the winter
c. The population of polar bears
d. The warmth of the summer
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4) What to Arctic Foxes do when food is scarce?
a. Become prey for polar bears
b. Eat more berries and seaweed
c. Move south
d. Become scavengers
5) How often to Arctic Foxes eat Snowy Owls?
a. Not often
b. Very often
c. Somewhat often
d. Never
6) Which is NOT true about the size of an Arctic Fox?
a. Most are near six pounds
b. Most are close to 20 pounds
c. Some can reach 20 pounds
d. They can grow to three feet in length
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4) What to Arctic Foxes do when food is scarce?
a. Become prey for polar bears
b. Eat more berries and seaweed
c. Move south
d. Become scavengers
5) How often to Arctic Foxes eat Snowy Owls?
a. Not often
b. Very often
c. Somewhat often
d. Never
6) Which is NOT true about the size of an Arctic Fox?
a. Most are near six pounds
b. Most are close to 20 pounds
c. Some can reach 20 pounds
d. They can grow to three feet in length
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7) Complete the analogy:
Vixen: Fox :: ________ : Lion
a. Cub
b. Savanna
c. Tiger
d. Lioness
8) What does the word “insulate” mean in the sentence below?
Its thick fur coat helps insulate it from the freezing temperatures and windswept
snow.
a. Warn
b. Cool
c. Catch
d. Protect
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7) Complete the analogy:
Vixen: Fox :: ________ : Lion
a. Cub
b. Savanna
c. Tiger
d. Lioness
8) What does the word “insulate” mean in the sentence below?
Its thick fur coat helps insulate it from the freezing temperatures and windswept
snow.
a. Warn
b. Cool
c. Catch
d. Protect
© 2013 wheresjenny.com