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Reading Comprehension & Vocabulary in Context — GK Questions with Answers

Current Affairs 2026 Today's GK Quiz Static GK हिन्दी
18 questions
  1. According to the passage, what did the old well in the village square supply besides water?
    1. A meeting place
    2. A shared fact that everyone could see
    3. Drinking water for cattle
    4. A source of income
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) A shared fact that everyone could see

    Paragraph 5 says plainly that what the old well really supplied was a shared fact.

  2. Why does the writer say that what cannot be seen is very hard to argue about?
    1. Because villagers cannot read measurements
    2. Because the water moved into rock no villager had ever seen, so there is no common evidence
    3. Because engineers keep the data secret
    4. Because arguments need witnesses
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Because the water moved into rock no villager had ever seen, so there is no common evidence

    Paragraph 2 contrasts the visible level in the old well with deep water that nobody can see. Without visible evidence, there is nothing to point at.

  3. The phrase "the farmer who digs deepest wins — until the year when nobody wins" suggests that —
    1. deep wells are more profitable in the long run
    2. competition to dig deeper is self-defeating in the end
    3. farmers should dig together
    4. the rock layer is unlimited
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) competition to dig deeper is self-defeating in the end

    Each farmer gains for a while by digging deeper, but all of them lose when the water finally runs out — a self-defeating competition.

  4. It can be inferred that the writer regards the engineers’ remedies as —
    1. wrong in principle
    2. sound in themselves but weak because they come from outsiders
    3. too expensive to attempt
    4. already adopted everywhere
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) sound in themselves but weak because they come from outsiders

    Paragraph 4 says each remedy works where it has been tried, yet is an instruction from somebody who does not live in the village — sound, but poorly accepted.

  5. The word "uneven" in paragraph 3 most nearly means —
    1. rough to walk on
    2. varying from place to place
    3. unfair to women
    4. badly measured
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) varying from place to place

    The paragraph then gives one good case and one bad case, so uneven here means the results varied.

  6. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a benefit where pumps are few?
    1. A second crop
    2. A school that need not close in summer
    3. Children spared a long walk for water
    4. Higher prices for grain
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) Higher prices for grain

    Paragraph 3 lists the first three. Grain prices are never mentioned.

  7. The function of paragraph 4 in the passage is to —
    1. describe the main problem
    2. present the technical solutions and explain why they fail to take hold
    3. praise the engineers
    4. give the history of the well
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) present the technical solutions and explain why they fail to take hold

    It lists the remedies and then explains why they are read, approved and quietly ignored.

  8. The tone of the passage may best be described as —
    1. angry and accusing
    2. thoughtful and mildly ironic
    3. nostalgic throughout
    4. purely statistical
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) thoughtful and mildly ironic

    The writer reasons calmly, but phrases such as read, approved and quietly ignored carry a touch of irony.

  9. The writer would most probably agree that —
    1. electric pumps should be banned
    2. making water information public helps a community manage it
    3. villages cannot solve such problems themselves
    4. the old shallow wells should be the only source of water
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) making water information public helps a community manage it

    Paragraph 5 is built on exactly this point. The other options are stronger than anything the passage claims.

  10. Which would be the most suitable title for the passage?
    1. The History of Indian Agriculture
    2. The Painted Board at the Crossing
    3. What the Village Well Really Gave Us
    4. Electric Pumps and Their Working
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) What the Village Well Really Gave Us

    It is short, it names the subject, and it covers the whole passage. Option 2 covers only paragraph 5, and the others are off the point.

  1. In a comprehension test, the first thing you should do is —
    1. look up every difficult word
    2. read the questions quickly before reading the passage
    3. write a summary
    4. read the passage three times
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) read the questions quickly before reading the passage

    Scanning the questions first tells you what to look for while you read.

  2. Which option is most likely to be WRONG in an inference question?
    1. One containing "may"
    2. One containing "some"
    3. One containing "only" and "never"
    4. One containing "suggests"
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) One containing "only" and "never"

    Absolute words such as only and never claim more than a passage usually proves.

  3. "His brother was talkative, but Ravi was taciturn." The clue to the meaning of taciturn is a —
    1. definition clue
    2. example clue
    3. contrast clue
    4. cause-and-effect clue
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) contrast clue

    The word but signals a contrast, so taciturn must be the opposite of talkative.

  4. A summary should normally be about how long?
    1. the same length as the passage
    2. about half
    3. about one-third
    4. about one-tenth
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) about one-third

    The instruction normally given is a third of the original length, written in your own words.

  5. Which of these should be left out of a summary?
    1. The main idea of each paragraph
    2. Essential causes and reasons
    3. Examples and figures of speech
    4. The writer’s conclusion
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) Examples and figures of speech

    Illustration and decoration go; meaning stays.

  6. A title that would fit a hundred different passages is faulty because it is —
    1. too narrow
    2. too wide
    3. too long
    4. off the point
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) too wide

    A title must identify this passage and no other, so such a title is too wide.

  7. In the sentence "There was a great want of rain that year", the word want means —
    1. desire
    2. lack
    3. request
    4. need for help
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    Answer: (B) lack

    In this older sense want means lack or shortage.

  8. An option that states something the passage really says but does not answer the question asked is the trap called —
    1. too strong
    2. half right
    3. true but not the answer
    4. reversed
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) true but not the answer

    It is true, and that is exactly why it is dangerous. Re-read the stem before you choose.

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