Directions:(1-10) Read the passage and answer the given questions:

European medieval knowledge about Asia beyond the reach of Byzantine Empire was sourced in partial reports, often obscured by legends, dating back from the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great and his successors. In 1154, Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi created what would be known as the Tabula Rogeriana at the court of King Roger II of Sicily. The book, written in Arabic, is a description of the world and world map. It is divided into seven climate zones and contains maps showing the Eurasian continent in its entirety, but only the northern part of the African continent. It remained the most accurate world map for the next three centuries, but it also demonstrated that Africa was only partially known to either Christians, Genoese and Venetians, or the Arab seamen, and its southern extent was unknown. Knowledge about the Atlantic African coast was fragmented, and derived mainly from old Greek and Roman maps based on Carthaginian knowledge, including the time of Roman exploration of Mauritania. The Red Sea was barely known and only trade links with the Maritime republics, the Republic of Venice especially, fostered collection of accurate maritime knowledge.

Indian Ocean trade routes were sailed by Arab traders. Between 1405 and 1421, the Yongle Emperor of Ming China sponsored a series of long-range tributary missions. The fleets visited Arabia, East Africa, India, Maritime Southeast Asia, and Thailand. But the journeys, reported by Ma Huan, a Muslim voyager and translator, were halted abruptly after the emperor’s death, and were not followed up, as the Chinese Ming Dynasty retreated in the haijin, a policy of isolationism, having limited maritime trade.

A series of European expeditions crossing Eurasia by land in the late Middle Ages marked a prelude to the Age of Discovery. Although the Mongols had threatened Europe with pillage and destruction, Mongol states also unified much of Eurasia and, from 1206 on, the Pax Mongolica allowed safe trade routes and communication lines stretching from the Middle East to China. A series of Europeans took advantage of these in order to explore eastward. Most were Italians, as trade between Europe and the Middle East was controlled mainly by the Maritime republics.

Christian embassies were sent as far as Karakorum during the Mongol invasions of Syria, from which they gained a greater understanding of the world. The first of these travelers was Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, who journeyed to Mongolia and back from 1241 to 1247. About the same time, Russian prince Yaroslav of Vladimir, and subsequently his sons, Alexander Nevsky and Andrey II of Vladimir, traveled to the Mongolian capital. Though having strong political implications, their journeys left no detailed accounts. Other travelers followed, like French André de Longjumeau and Flemish William of Rubruck, who reached China through Central Asia. From 1325 to 1354, a Moroccan scholar from Tangier, Ibn Battuta, journeyed through North Africa, the Sahara desert, West Africa, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, having reached China. In 1439, Niccolò de’ Conti published an account of his travels as a Muslim merchant to India and Southeast Asia and, later in 1466-1472, Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin of Tver travelled to India.

The geographical exploration of the late Middle Ages eventually led to what today is known as the Age of Discovery: a loosely defined European historical period, from the 15th century to the 18th century, that witnessed extensive overseas exploration emerge as a powerful factor in European culture and globalization. Many lands previously unknown to Europeans were discovered during this period, though most were already inhabited, and, from the perspective of non-Europeans, the period was not one of discovery, but one of invasion and the arrival of settlers from a previously unknown continent. Global exploration started with the successful Portuguese travels to the Atlantic archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores, the coast of Africa, and the sea route to India in 1498; and, on behalf of the Crown of Castile (Spain), the trans-Atlantic Voyages of Christopher Columbus between 1492 and 1502, as well as the first circumnavigation of the globe in 1519-1522. These discoveries led to numerous naval expeditions across the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, and land expeditions in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australia that continued into the late 19th century, and ended with the exploration of the polar regions in the 20th century.

1. The options describe some of the travels of Europeans made possible by the Pax Mongolica. Choose the option which is not true or cannot be inferred from the passage.

Ans:5
Options A, B, C and E can be inferred from the fourth paragraph of the passage. From the fourth paragraph we can observe that André de Longjumeau travelled to China and not India. Thus, option D is incorrect.

2. Which of the following is a major policy adopted by the Ming dynasty after the death of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty?

Ans:3
Towards the end of the second paragraph, it is given that the Ming Dynasty after the death of Emperor Yongle retreated in haijin, a policy of isolationism. Thus, option C is true from the passage.
Option A is not true as we cannot infer that Maritime trade was prohibited completely. Option B is not a major policy decision and is not the right choice.
We cannot infer from the passage that haijin means to ban sea trade. Thud, option D is also no true.

3. Select the odd one out from the following options.

Ans:1
Options B, C, D and E occurred during or after the “Age of Discovery” as given in the last paragraph of the passage whereas Option A occurred during the middle ages as given in the 4th paragraph of the passage. Thus, A is the odd one out.

4. The ” Age of discovery” between the 15th and 18th century was mainly applicable only to the Europeans because

Ans:2
Refer to the following lines in the last paragraph,” Many lands previously unknown to Europeans were discovered during this period, though most were already inhabited, and, from the perspective of non-Europeans, the period was not one of discovery, but one of invasion and the arrival of settlers from a previously unknown continent.” From this we can infer that option B is the right choice.

5. Which of the following is not true about the book “Tabula Rogeriana”?

Ans:3
From the first paragraph of the passage we can see that options A, B and D are true. But it is given in the first paragraph that the map did not cover Africa entirely. Thus, option C is not true from the passage.

6. In which era did the Europeans first cross Eurasia by land?

Ans:5
In the third paragraph it is given that “A series of European expeditions …. Age of Discovery”. From this line we can only infer that Europeans crossed Eurasia by land during the Middle Ages but it was not necessarily the first time they did this. Thus, option E is the right choice.

7. Choose the most appropriate synonym for the word in bold.
OBSCURED

Ans:4
The meaning of the word “obscured” from the passage is something that is ”distorted”. The only word from the options that has similar meaning is “blurred”.

8. Choose the most appropriate synonym for the word in bold.
PERSPECTIVE

Ans:1
From the context we can infer that the meaning of the word “Perspective” from the context of the passage is “outlook” or “viewpoint”. Only option A- “angle” has meaning similar to this and is thus the right choice.

9. Choose the most appropriate antonym for the word in bold.
FOSTER

Ans:3
From the context we can infer that the meaning of the word “Foster” in the passage is “strengthen”. Thus, the word “dampen” which means to weaken is the most appropriate synonym from the options.

10. Choose the most appropriate antonym for the word in bold.
PILLAGE

Ans:1
The meaning of the word “Pillage” from the options is “ to rob”. Thus, “bestow” which means to “give” is the most appropriate antonym.
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