- What is the theme of the passage? — Every morning the milkman, the newspaper boy and the sweeper start work before dawn. Most of us are still asleep when they have finished half their day. Their quiet labour keeps our mornings smooth.
- Newspapers are delivered early.
- Morning is the best part of the day.
- Sleeping late is a bad habit.
- The unseen workers who keep our mornings running deserve respect.
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Answer: (D) The unseen workers who keep our mornings running deserve respect.
All three examples carry one message: the unseen workers’ contribution.
- What is the theme of the passage? — A rolling stone gathers no moss, they say. Yet a mind that keeps learning, moving and questioning stays fresh and strong. Standing still, whether in a job or in thought, is the surest way to fall behind.
- Stones do not grow moss.
- Continuous learning keeps a person fresh and ahead.
- Changing jobs often is unwise.
- Thinking is difficult.
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Answer: (B) Continuous learning keeps a person fresh and ahead.
The real point comes after “Yet”.
- What is the theme of the passage? — The village library had only a hundred books, but every evening children crowded around its single table. One book passed from hand to hand became a shared treasure. Slowly the whole village began to read.
- Books are expensive.
- Libraries should have more books.
- A small library can awaken a whole village to reading.
- Children love evenings.
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Answer: (C) A small library can awaken a whole village to reading.
A small library → a change in the whole village.
- What is the theme of the passage? — Many people think honesty is a weakness in a competitive world. But the trader whom everyone trusts never has to advertise. His customers return and bring their friends. Honesty, in the long run, is the best business plan.
- Traders should advertise.
- Customers are always right.
- Competition is harmful.
- Honesty pays in the long run.
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Answer: (D) Honesty pays in the long run.
After “But” + the conclusion sentence.
- What is the theme of the passage? — Rainwater that runs off the roofs of our cities is wasted. If it is collected in tanks it can recharge wells and feed gardens. A small pipe on a roof can thus save a big share of a city’s water.
- Cities have big roofs.
- Pipes are useful.
- Gardens need regular watering.
- Rainwater harvesting can conserve water.
Show answer
Answer: (D) Rainwater harvesting can conserve water.
The conclusion follows “thus”.
- What is the theme of the passage? — Social media has brought distant friends close. But it has also made many of us ignore the people sitting next to us. A phone can connect the world and still disconnect a family dinner table.
- Social media is totally harmful.
- Social media connects us far away but can distance us nearby.
- Families must stop eating together.
- Phones are costly.
Show answer
Answer: (B) Social media connects us far away but can distance us nearby.
It balances both sides (gain and loss).
- What is the theme of the passage? — The old banyan in the square has seen weddings, protests, floods and festivals. Elders gather under its shade, and children swing from its roots. Without it the square would be just an empty ground.
- Children enjoy swings.
- Banyan trees grow tall.
- An old tree can be the heart of community life.
- Festivals are important.
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Answer: (C) An old tree can be the heart of community life.
The tree → the heart of the community.
- What is the theme of the passage? — He failed his first exam, then his second. Friends advised him to quit. Instead he studied the questions he had missed and tried again. The third time he topped the list.
- Exams are unfair.
- Toppers never fail.
- Failure should be a lesson, not an end.
- Friends give bad advice.
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Answer: (C) Failure should be a lesson, not an end.
Learning from failure.
- What is the theme of the passage? — A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Yet the bird can never fly high if it never leaves the hand. Safety and adventure must be balanced for growth.
- Growth needs a balance between safety and risk.
- Birds should be caught.
- Adventure is dangerous.
- Safety is worthless.
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Answer: (A) Growth needs a balance between safety and risk.
Balance follows “Yet”.
- What is the theme of the passage? — Yoga, a simple morning walk and a bowl of fresh fruit may look ordinary. But practised daily, they build strength that no medicine can sell. Health is made in small habits long before it is lost.
- Medicine is useless.
- Daily healthy habits protect health.
- Fruit is cheap.
- Walking is boring.
Show answer
Answer: (B) Daily healthy habits protect health.
Small habits → health.
- What is the theme of the passage? — Time is the only wealth equally shared by the king and the beggar: twenty-four hours each day. What differs is how it is spent. The wise convert it into achievements; the careless let it slip.
- A day has twenty-four hours.
- Kings are wealthier.
- Everyone gets equal time; what matters is how it is used.
- Beggars waste time.
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Answer: (C) Everyone gets equal time; what matters is how it is used.
The comparison → the value of using time.
- The theme of a passage is best described as its —
- longest sentence
- title only
- first sentence
- central idea
Show answer
Answer: (D) central idea
The theme is the central idea.
- The sentence that states the main idea of a paragraph is the —
- last word
- footnote
- caption
- topic sentence
Show answer
Answer: (D) topic sentence
the topic sentence.
- Which word often introduces the writer’s real point?
- however
- and
- also
- moreover
Show answer
Answer: (A) however
The real point often follows however/but.
- Words that appear again and again in a passage usually point to its —
- tense
- theme
- spelling
- footnote
Show answer
Answer: (B) theme
Repeated words → theme.
- An option that covers only one example of the passage is —
- the correct theme
- irrelevant
- too narrow
- too broad
Show answer
Answer: (C) too narrow
Too narrow.
- An option much bigger than the passage is —
- too broad
- always right
- a title
- too narrow
Show answer
Answer: (A) too broad
Too broad.
- A good theme is written in —
- one phrase of two words
- one complete sentence in your own words
- three paragraphs
- copied lines
Show answer
Answer: (B) one complete sentence in your own words
One complete sentence in your own words.
- If a passage ends with “Thus, discipline shapes success”, this sentence is the —
- an example
- conclusion carrying the theme
- title of another passage
- an irrelevant detail
Show answer
Answer: (B) conclusion carrying the theme
“Thus” → a conclusion.
More chapters in this subject
- Letter Writing25 questions
- Passage Completion20 questions
- Precise Writing (Precis)25 questions
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