Directions:(1-10) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Sometime within the first quarter of the present nineteenth century, a little old lady—some people would even have called her a dear little old lady—sat one afternoon in a high-backed chair beside a cottage window, from which might be had a magnificent view of Sicilian rocks, with the Mediterranean beyond.

This little old lady was so pleasant in all respects that an adequate description of her is an impossibility. Her mouth was a perfect study. It was not troubled with anything in the shape of teeth. It lay between a delicate little down-turned nose and a soft little up-turned chin, which two seemed as if anxious to meet in order to protect it. The wrinkles that surrounded that mouth were innumerable, and each wrinkle was a distinct and separate smile; so that, whether pursing or expanding, it was at all times rippling with an expression of tender benignity.

This little old lady plays no part in our tale; nevertheless she merits passing introduction as being the grandmother of our hero, a Sicilian youth of nineteen, who, at the time we write of, sat on a stool at her feet engaged in earnest conversation.

“Grandmother,” said the youth in a perplexed mood, “why won’t you let me go into the Church instead of brother Lucien? I’m certain that he does not want to, though he is fit enough, as far as education goes, and goodness; but you know well enough that he is desperately fond of Juliet, and she is equally desperate about him, and nothing could be more pleasant than that they should get married.”

“Tut, child, you talk nonsense,” said the old lady, letting a sigh escape from the rippling mouth. “Your father’s dearest wish has always been to see Lucien enter the Church, and although Juliet is our adopted child, we do not intend to interfere with the wishes of her uncle the abbot, who has offered to place her in the convent of Saint Shutemup. As to you taking Lucien’s place,”—here the mouth expanded considerably—“ah! Mariano, you are too foolish, too giddy; better fitted to be a sailor or soldier I should think—”

“How!” interrupted Mariano. “Do you then estimate the profession of the soldier and sailor so low, that you think only foolish and giddy fellows are fit for it?”

“Not so, child; but it is a school which is eminently fitted to teach respect and obedience to foolish and giddy fellows who are pert to their grandmothers.”

“Ah! how unfair,” exclaimed Mariano, with assumed solemnity; “I give you good advice, with gravity equal to that of any priest, and yet you call me pert. Grandmother, you are ungrateful as well as unjust. Have I not been good to you all my life?”

“You have, my child,” said the little old lady; “very good—also rather troublesome, especially in the way of talking nonsense, and I’m sorry to find that although your goodness continues, your troublesomeness does not cease!”

“Well, well,” replied the youth, with a sprightly toss of the head, “Lucien and I shall enjoy at least a few weeks more of our old life on the blue sea before he takes to musty books and I to the stool of the clerk. Ah, why did you allow father to give us a good education? How much more enjoyable it would have been to have lived the free life of a fisherman—or of that pig,” he said, pointing to one which had just strayed into the garden and lain down to roll in the earth—“what happy ignorance or ignorant happiness; what concentrated enjoyment of the present, what perfect oblivion as to the past, what obvious disregard of the future—”

“Ay,” interrupted the little old lady, “what blissful ignorance of the deeds of ancient heroes, of the noble achievements of great and good men, of the adventures of Marco Polo, and Magellan, and Vasco de Gama, over whose voyages you have so often and so fondly pored.”

As she spoke a pretty dark-eyed girl of nineteen entered the room and joined their council, but before they had gone very deep into the question which Mariano had propounded, they were interrupted by the entrance of the head of the house, Francisco Rimini, a strong portly man of about fifty years of age, with a brown, healthy complexion, grizzled locks, a bald pate, and a semi-nautical gait. He was followed by a stranger, and by his eldest son, Lucien—a tall, grave, slender youth of twenty-three, who was in many respects the opposite of his brother Mariano, physically as well as mentally.

1. Who is the main protagonist according to the narrator?

Ans:4
Refer to the following lines from the third para-
“she merits passing introduction as being the grandmother of our hero, a Sicilian youth of nineteen, who, at the time we write of, sat on a stool at her feet engaged in earnest conversation.”
This young boy is later revealed to be as Mariano. Thus, D is the correct answer.

2. What is the relation between Francisco and Mariano?

Ans:3
Refer to the following lines from the last para-
“Francisco Rimini, a strong portly man of about fifty years of age, with a brown, healthy complexion, grizzled locks, a bald pate, and a semi-nautical gait. He was followed by a stranger, and by his eldest son, Lucien.”
From this C can be inferred.

3. Why did Mariano’s grand-mother says “Tut, child, you talk nonsense”, in the first line of the fifth para?

Ans:2
Refer to the following lines from the end of the fourth para-
“but you know well enough that he is desperately fond of Juliet, and she is equally desperate about him, and nothing could be more pleasant than that they should get married.”
From this B can be inferred as this is immediately followed by the aforementioned grand-mother’s comment.

4. Why did the grand-mother think that Mariano was fitted for the profession of sailor or soldier?

Ans:1
Refer to the grand-mother’s comment in the sixth para—
“Not so, child; but it is a school which is eminently fitted to teach respect and obedience to foolish and giddy fellows who are pert to their grandmothers.”
Thus, A is the correct answer.

5. What did Juliet’s uncle intend her to do?

Ans:5
In the fifth para, the grand-mother says-
“Juliet is our adopted child, we do not intend to interfere with the wishes of her uncle the abbot, who has offered to place her in the convent of Saint Shutemup.”
Thus, E is the correct answer.

6. Which of the following is the closest in meaning of the word ‘earnest’ as used in the passage?


Ans:1
‘Earnest’ means resulting from or showing sincere and intense conviction or something which is seriously intended. Among the options, only A means something on the similar lines.

7. Which of the following is the closest in meaning of the word ‘eminent’ as used in the passage?

Ans:4
‘Eminent’ means famous and respected within a particular sphere. Among the options, only D is its synonym.

8. Which of the following is the closest in meaning of the word ‘voyage’ as used in the passage?


Ans:3
‘Voyage’ means journey which is exactly what expedition also means. Thus, C is the correct answer.

9. Which of the following is the most opposite in meaning of the word ‘giddy’ as used in the passage?

Ans:2
Giddy means lacking seriousness. Among the options only ‘sensible’ means opposite in meaning to it.

10. Which of the following is the most opposite in meaning of the word ‘slender’ as used in the passage?

Ans:5
Slender means being of delicate or thin build. Among the options, only stout means opposite to it in meaning.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

171 thoughts on “Reading Comprehension for Bank Exams, MBA, SSC and other exams”

  2. KSHITIJA Mishra

    Content relevant for rrb po
    Level and structure is same as banking exams ask for.
    Heartily thanks to the hardworking team who provided this content😊 🙏😇

  3. Kshitija Mishra

    Content relevant for rrb po
    Level and structure is same as banking exams ask for.
    Heartily thanks to the hardworking team who provided this content😊 🙏😇
    Thank you

  14. Coquitlam Physio Services

    Hello there, I found your site via Google while
    searching for a related subject, your site came up, it looks great.
    I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.

    Hello there, just was aware of your weblog thru Google, and found that it is really informative.
    I’m gonna watch out for brussels. I will be grateful for
    those who proceed this in future. Lots of people will
    be benefited from your writing. Cheers!

  16. digital marketing

    Hmm is anyone else encountering problems with the pictures on this blog loading?
    I’m trying to find out if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog.

    Any feed-back would be greatly appreciated.

  17. ai

    This piece of writing provides clear idea designed for the new visitors of blogging,
    that really how to do blogging and site-building.

  18. elafonissi crete

    Hey just wanted to give you a brief heads up
    and let you know a few of the pictures aren’t loading correctly.

    I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same results.

  20. youtube channel eppadi create panrathu tamil

    It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this
    outstanding blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding
    your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will share this blog with my Facebook group.
    Chat soon!

  21. architecte d'intérieur Toulouse

    Greate post. Keep posting such kind of information on your page.

    Im really impressed by it.
    Hello there, You’ve done a great job. I will certainly digg it
    and in my opinion suggest to my friends. I’m confident they will be benefited from
    this website.

  23. BitStarz Casino Bonus Code

    Please let me know if you’re looking for a
    article author for your weblog. You have some really great posts and I feel I
    would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some material for your blog
    in exchange for a link back to mine. Please send me an email if
    interested. Kudos!

  24. spicy webcam sessions

    A motivating discussion is worth comment. I think that you need to
    write more about this issue, it might not be a taboo matter but generally folks
    don’t discuss such subjects. To the next! Cheers!!

  25. visit the site

    You can definitely see your skills in the article you write.
    The arena hopes for even more passionate writers such as you who
    aren’t afraid to mention how they believe.
    Always follow your heart.

  26. camera tube ip Dahua

    Thanks for your marvelous posting! I really enjoyed reading it, you’re a great author.
    I will make sure to bookmark your blog and will often come back in the foreseeable future.

    I want to encourage yourself to continue your great writing, have a nice weekend!

  51. tinyurl.com

    Unquestionably consider that that you said. Your favorite reason appeared to be on the net the simplest factor
    to take into accout of. I say to you, I certainly get annoyed
    even as other folks consider concerns that they just do not know about.
    You controlled to hit the nail upon the top as smartly as defined out the entire thing without
    having side effect , people could take a signal.
    Will probably be again to get more. Thanks

    Also visit my web-site – nordvpn coupons inspiresensation (tinyurl.com)

  59. https://tinyurl.com

    Howdy, i read your blog from time to time and i own a
    similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of
    spam comments? If so how do you prevent it, any plugin or anything you can recommend?
    I get so much lately it’s driving me insane so any support is
    very much appreciated.

    Visit my blog – nordvpn Coupons inspiresensation [https://tinyurl.com]

  75. nordvpn coupons inspiresensation

    I do not know if it’s just me or if everybody else experiencing
    problems with your blog. It seems like some of the written text within your posts
    are running off the screen. Can somebody else please provide feedback
    and let me know if this is happening to them too? This may be a issue with my browser because I’ve had this happen previously.
    Thanks

    Also visit my blog: nordvpn coupons inspiresensation

  77. nordvpn coupons inspiresensation

    Hi there I am so glad I found your site, I really found you by error,
    while I was researching on Bing for something else, Nonetheless I am
    here now and would just like to say thank you for a
    incredible post and a all round thrilling blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to go through it all at the moment but I have saved
    it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read
    a lot more, Please do keep up the awesome job.

    My site: nordvpn coupons inspiresensation

  87. bezimienna.com.pl

    What’s up everyone, it’s my first visit at this website,
    and piece of writing is actually fruitful in favor of me, keep up posting such articles
    or reviews.

  147. Stevenlix

    ¡Hola, maestros del juego !
    casinoonlinefueradeespanol con juegos en vivo – п»їп»їhttps://casinoonlinefueradeespanol.xyz/ casinos fuera de espaГ±a
    ¡Que disfrutes de asombrosas momentos memorables !

  152. MarioWaive

    ¡Saludos, participantes del juego !
    Juegos mГіviles en casinos extranjeros seguros – п»їhttps://casinosextranjero.es/ casino online extranjero
    ¡Que vivas increíbles instantes inolvidables !

  158. vxerxes1993

    Inside the Disco Volante is AP’s ultra-thin caliber 2003 a manual movement measuring just 1.64mm thick. Designed in collaboration with link LeCoultre and Vacheron it was the thinnest caliber when introduced in the ’40s take that F. Piguet 21!.

  162. CalvinGaw

    ¡Bienvenidos, estrategas del entretenimiento !
    Casino online fuera de EspaГ±a sin verificaciГіn por selfie – п»їhttps://casinofueraespanol.xyz/ casinofueraespanol.xyz
    ¡Que vivas increíbles victorias legendarias !

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top