Reading comprehension tests help to gain knowledge from the information shared in the passage, develop a good vocabulary, review the author’s ideas, form an opinion on the facts or information in the passage, and understand the passage stylistically.
Introducing a curated selection of over 25 Reading Comprehension Tests accompanied by detailed explanations, outcome analysis, and time tracking.
Reading Comprehension Test
Reading Comprehension Test #1
Trees form an important part of a country’s wealth. Trees provide a country with all the wood it needs for buildings and furniture and provide a lot of fuel for surrounding areas. But the greatest use of trees lies in their ability to attract rain and conserve moisture. A plant’s leaves are constantly evaporating moisture, which cools the surrounding atmosphere. As a result, when moisture-laden winds blow over trees, the moisture they carry condenses and forms clouds that eventually dissolve into the rain. To save the earth we must stop cutting trees.
Reading Comprehension Test #2
The “Balanced Diet” is a diet that contains all of the necessary ingredients in nearly the required quantity. A balanced diet is one that contributes to the maintenance or improvement of overall health. We should eat a well-balanced diet that includes liquids, adequate proteins, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and calories. To maintain a healthy body, we must eat fresh fruits, salad, green leafy vegetables, milk, egg, yogurt, and so on on a regular basis. We need iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, and trace amounts of iodine, copper, and other minerals. Milk is possibly the only single item that can be considered a balanced diet in and of itself.
Reading Comprehension Test #3
Positive thinking is an attitude or mindset characterized by optimism and happiness. A positive person hopes for the best and expects success in his life. Although many may scoff at the idea of staying positive all the time, it has a plethora of benefits not only for the mind but also for the body. Positivity brings happiness to the soul and lightens one. It evokes our goodwill and joy. People are attracted to such people. One sword and being negative inaction causes the exact opposite reaction. It is a known fact that people try to avoid people who exude negativity. They don’t want to be around someone who brings down the energy in the house.
Positive feedback to yourself can improve your health and increase your chances of success in life. It is recommended that one refrain from using harsh words in their thoughts or words. Be kind and gentle to yourself, encouraging and comforting. Only then can one achieve everything he wants in life.
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Reading Comprehension Test #4
Swami Vivekananda was not a traditional monk. He was a patriotic monk. At the same time, he was one of the greatest spirits. He was also one of the world’s greatest humanists. He was born in Kolkata in 1863. He used to engage in intense meditation in childhood. His first name was Biley. His given name was Narendranath Dutta. He attended the Metropolitan School and the Scottish Church College. He met Sri Ramakrishna Dev after achieving a B.A. degree. He became a follower of Ramakrishna Dev and assumed the name Vivekananda. He attended the Parliament of Religion in Chicago.
He delivered a valuable speech to the foreign audience, addressing them as “Brothers and Sisters of America.” This speech made him widely known. The Western world began to recognize the importance of Indian religion and culture. In 1897, upon his return from America, he established the Ramakrishna Mission and Math. It quickly grew into an international organization. This organization’s motto is “service to humanity.” He died on July 4, 1902, at the age of 39. India is in need of another Vivekananda today.
Reading Comprehension Test #5
Brilliant scientists have come and gone, but perhaps none have accomplished anything under the circumstances that Stephen Hawking has faced. When Hawking was 21, he was in his third year at Oxford when he was diagnosed with a severe Motor Neurone disease that broke his nerve cells and atrophied his muscles. His words became slurred. Other communication organs were also destroyed. Doctors only gave Hawking two more years to live. Despite this bleak prognosis, Hawking not only completed his course at Oxford, but also went on to complete his PhD thesis, marry, and have three children. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974, a rare honor for any scientist.
Hawking contracted pneumonia again during a research trip to Switzerland, and his windpipe was operated on. This resulted in a total loss of speech. ‘A Brief History of Time’ and ‘The Universe in a Nutshell’ are two books that popularised his epoch-making theories about the Creation and the Universe. Academic honors have been bestowed upon Hawking, who is widely regarded as the greatest physicist and mathematician since Einstein. Stephen Hawking has demonstrated how the human intellect and spirit can overcome the most severe physical handicaps.
Reading Comprehension Test #6
A hobby is a voluntary work done in leisure with pleasure. There are many fashionable hobbies such as stamp-collecting, coin-collecting, photography, etc. But my favorite hobby is gardening. I started it when I was only ten. I have a small plot of land beside our house. There I cultivate gardening. I spend one hour every day gardening. Back from the morning walk, I go to my garden with a spade and a waterful bucket. I dig up the soil, trim the plants, and water them. I also spray insecticides and apply fertilizers.
When I see the plants swaying in the wind, my heart leaps in joy. I experience heavenly pleasure as I see them grow day by day. I have chosen this hobby because it gives me not only joy but also enough physical exercise to keep my body fit.
I face some problems in cultivating gardening. Entellus often eat up flowers and destroy the plants, though I am at pains to scare them away. Gardening brings me both joy and health. Every afternoon I work for an hour in my garden and watch the buds come up and the branches nod in the breeze. Although a hobby is a source of pleasure and not of profit, my hobby combines the two. My mother looks upon it very kindly, as a part of my garden serves as a kitchen garden. A hobby is an index to a man’s character and I believe my hobby reflects my character.
Reading Comprehension Test #7
Not only sands and gravels
Were once more on their travels,
But gulping muddy gallons
Great boulders off their balance
Bumped heads together dully
And started down the gully.
Whole capes caked off in slices.
I felt my standpoint shaken
In the universal crisis.
But with one step backward taken
I saved myself from going.
A world torn loose went by me.
Then the rain stopped and the blowing,
And the sun came out to dry me…………. By Robert Frost
Reading Comprehension Test #8
Once there was a lion who lived in a den, and nearby, a mouse lived in a hole. One day, while the lion was sleeping, the mouse accidentally entered the lion’s nostril. The lion woke up in a fury and caught the mouse, ready to kill it. However, the mouse pleaded for mercy, promising that it could be of help to the lion in the future. Initially, the lion laughed at the mouse’s small size but eventually decided to let it go.
Sometime later, the lion got caught in a hunter’s net and could not free himself. In distress, he roared loudly. The mouse, recognizing the lion’s roar, immediately rushed to the spot and started gnawing the net. Eventually, it succeeded in freeing the lion, and said, “Dear king of beasts, I have done you a favor. Now, please run away to save yourself.” The lion was grateful to the mouse and quickly ran away. The story teaches us that little friends can prove to be great friends.
Reading Comprehension Test #9
Once, there was a merchant who sold salt. He had a strong donkey that carried heavy salt loads to far places. Sometimes, they crossed a stream to reach other villages. Once, the donkey slipped into the stream with the salt, dissolving much of it. The merchant lost money, but the donkey felt better with the lighter load and found it easier to cross the stream.
The donkey got an idea and started falling into the stream on purpose to make the load lighter. It did this again the next day, and the merchant realized the donkey’s trick. The smart donkey repeated this trick again, and the merchant knew the donkey’s plan.
To teach the donkey a lesson, the merchant put cotton on it instead of salt. When the donkey fell into the stream again, the cotton soaked up water and became heavy. The donkey struggled to move with the heavy load, learning its lesson. It understood that tricks were wrong and decided not to play them anymore. The merchant’s plan taught the donkey about honesty.
Reading Comprehension Test #10
Oceans are extremely important to human life. The following are the importance of oceans:
Fish is an important source of food and nutrition for human life. It has been a vital part of the human diet since prehistoric times. Fishing has become a well-developed industry today and significantly contributes to the economy of many nations. Oceans provide food and other marine products to humans. Several kinds of edible oil are manufactured by humans from marine animals. Besides, food and oil, marine animals and plants also provide leather, glue, and cattle feed.
Much research is on extracting essential oils and other products of marine life that can cure different diseases. Marine pharmacologists are researching the physical and chemical properties of marine organisms such as crabs, sea cucumbers, sharks, and cod. Oceans provide us with a variety of mineral resources. Some of these are common salt, magnesium, bromide, sulfur, gold, platinum, tin, sand, and petroleum.
The most important mineral resources obtained from the sea are petroleum and natural gas. Petroleum known as the ‘Black Gold’ is mainly found in the continental shelves and slopes. Bombay High is an important source of oil in India. Oceans also provide us with non-conventional sources of energy such as tidal energy—the energy generated from waves. The rise and fall of seawater is known as tides. Powerful tidal waves generate a large amount of force when they strike the shore. This energy is tapped and used to produce electricity.
Many countries are researching on the prospects of harnessing energy from the surface of ocean waters. Water at the surface of the sea in tropical regions may reach up to 30°C. Belgium and Cuba have designed floating generators that can be used for the production of electricity.
Oceans also regulate the temperature of the Earth. They cover about 71% of the Earth’s surface. They store the heat of the Sun and keep the Earth warm. This is because oceans absorb the heat of the Sun and release it after a long time. On the other hand, the land gets heated and releases the heat quickly. Had the land been greater than the water, it would have remained frozen for most time of the year.
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Oceans play an important role in the water cycle. About 97% of the total water available on the Earth is stored in oceans. Water evaporates from the oceans in the atmosphere. It then condenses and precipitates on the Earth in the form of rainfall, dew, and snow.
Reading Comprehension Test #11
Once, there was a wealthy man who wanted to throw a big feast for his friends. He had everything ready except for the fish. He promised a reward to whoever could bring him some. A poor fisherman heard about the reward and caught a big fish to give to the rich man.
When the fisherman arrived at the rich man’s house, the gatekeeper, who was not very nice, stopped him. The gatekeeper said he’d only let the fisherman in if he shared half the reward. The fisherman thought of a clever plan to teach the gatekeeper a lesson.
The fisherman agreed to share half of his reward with the gatekeeper. Inside, the rich man was happy to receive the fish and wanted to give the fisherman Rs. 100 as a reward. However, the fisherman surprised everyone by asking for a hundred lashes on his back instead. People were puzzled, but the rich man agreed. As the lashes began, the fisherman stopped at fifty and said he had a partner who should receive the other fifty lashes. This partner was the greedy gatekeeper.
The gatekeeper ended up getting the remaining fifty lashes for his greediness. The rich man finally understood what was happening. After giving the gatekeeper his punishment, the rich man fired him from his job. The fisherman was rewarded handsomely for his cleverness and honesty.
Reading Comprehension Test #12
He is that fallen lance that lies as hurled,
That lies unlifted now, come dew, come rust,
But still lies pointed as it plowed the dust.
If we who sight along it round the world,
See nothing worthy to have been its mark,
It is because like men we look too near,
Forgetting that as fitted to the sphere,
Our missiles always make too short an arc.
They fall, they rip the grass, they intersect
The curve of earth, and striking, break their own;
They make us cringe for metal-point on stone.
But this we know, the obstacle that checked
And tripped the body, shot the spirit on
Further than target ever showed or shone…………….by Robert Frost
Reading Comprehension Test #13
Oh, sweet content, that turns the labourer’s sweat
To tears of joy, and shines the roughest face;
How often have I sought you high and low
And found you still in some lone quiet place;
Here, in my room, when full of happy dreams,
With no life heard beyond that merry sound
of moths that on my lighted ceiling kiss
Their shadows as they dance and dance around;
Or in a garden, on a summer’s night,
When I have seen the dark and solemn air.
Blink with the blind bats’ wings, and heaven’s bright face
Twitch with the stars that shine in thousands there. -William Henry Davies
Reading Comprehension Test #14
The frog half fearful jumps across the path,
The little mouse that leaves its hole at eve
Nimble’s with timid dread beneath the swath;
My rustling steps awhile their joys deceive,
Till past, and then the cricket sings more strong,
And grasshoppers in merry moods still wear
The short night weary with their fretting song.
Up from behind the molehill jumps the hare,
Cheat of his chosen bed, and from the bank
The yellowhammer flutters in short fears
From off its nest hid in the grasses rank,
And drops again when no more noise it hears,
Thus nature’s human link and endless thrall,
Proud man still seems the enemy of all. -John Clare
Reading Comprehension Test #15
The Hirakud Dam, constructed across the river Mahanadi, stands as one of the earliest multipurpose river projects built after India’s independence in 1953. Its construction was completed in 1953. It is the longest major earthen dam in Asia. The dam also forms the largest artificial lake in Asia. There are two observation towers on each side of the embankment. One is Gandhi Minar and the other is Nehru Minar.
The dam helps control floods in the Mahanadi Delta and irrigates 75,000 square kilometers of land. Bhakra – Nangal Project, Bhakra Dam Power House, Bhakra Canal System, Nangal Dam project provides irrigation for ‘Kharif’ and ‘Rabi’ crops in Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir, and Suvarnapur districts.
The dam can generate up to 307.5 MW of electricity through two power plants at Burla and Chiplima. Moreover, the project provides flood protection to 9,5000 km2 of deltaic areas in Cuttack and Puri districts.
Reading Comprehension Test #16
Democracy is considered as the best form of government. In a democracy, people have the right to elect their own representatives. An election is a process by which the people elect their own representatives to form and govern the government. Elections are done by the party in a democracy. The party that gets the most votes forms the government at the centre. An election is the most appropriate way in which the people can elect and send their representatives to the legislature.
Why do we Need Elections?
An election is the most appropriate way in which the people can elect and send their representatives to the legislature. When two or more candidates are running for the same office, elections enable voters to choose the candidate of their choice by casting their votes.
Voters participate in the governance of their country by voting in elections. Elections held at regular intervals help the electorate monitor the performance of the government. If their representatives do not perform satisfactorily, they may decide not to vote for them in the next election. During elections, people get to know about the ideology of political parties. After winning the elections, the representatives make laws for the welfare of the people.
Reading Comprehension Test #17
Mahatma Gandhi was born in 1869 at Porbandar in the Kathiawar district of Gujarat. He went to England in 1888 to study Law. From 1893 to 1914, he practiced law in South Africa. He witnessed racial discrimination in South Africa and soon became the leader of a struggle against racist authorities in the country. He formed the Natal Indian Congress to fight against the racist policies of the South African government. It was here that the unique technique of Satyagraha evolved. Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha was based on truth and nonviolence.
Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in January 1915 and made an extensive tour of the country in the next three years. In 1917 and 1918, he was involved in three significant struggles in Champaran (Bihar), Ahmedabad, and Kheda in Gujarat.
Reading Comprehension Test #18
Education is an essential part of our life. It not only helps us acquire knowledge and skills but also helps in building our character and values. Education plays an important role in our personal and professional development and is an investment in our future. Education is an essential part of our life. It not only helps us acquire knowledge and skills but also helps in building our character and values. Education plays an important role in our personal and professional development and is an investment in our future.
Education has many benefits. It helps us understand the world around us and think critically and creatively. It also gives us the skills we need to succeed in the workforce and contribute to our communities Education can open up new opportunities and give us a sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction.
Additionally, education helps promote equality and social mobility. It gives individuals the tools and knowledge they need to rise out of poverty and achieve their full potential. Education is also a key factor in reducing discrimination and promoting understanding and tolerance between different cultures and groups. In short, education is an important part of our lives and has the power to transform individuals and communities.
Reading Comprehension Test #19
The All India Congress Committee met in Mumbai on 8 August 1942 and passed the Quit India Movement which was adopted at Wardha in July 1942. Before the movement could start, the government arrested Gandhi and other prominent Congress leaders and declared the party illegal. Strikes and demonstrations were organized all over the country. People attacked the symbols of British rule such as post offices, police stations, and railway stations.
In many towns of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh, people set up a parallel government. Some popular leaders of the movement were Aruna Asaf Ali, Jai Prakash Narayanan, Ram Manohar Lohia, and Nana Patil. These leaders kept the movement alive despite the brutal suppression by the government. The government intended to crush the movement. The press was censored and the protesting crowds were fired upon and even bombarded.
About ten thousand people were killed and sixty thousand were arrested by the government by the end of 1942. The military was deployed in many villages and towns. It has been said that India had not witnessed such kind of repression since the Revolt of 1857. In the end, the government successfully crushed the movement.
Reading Comprehension Test #20
The Roman Empire was one of the greatest and most influential civilizations in world history. At its height, it spanned three continents and included more than 50 million people. The Romans were known for their military prowess, their sophisticated system of government, and their impressive architectural achievements, including the construction of roads, aqueducts, and public buildings.
The Roman Republic, which lasted from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC, was a model of governance that influenced many later civilizations. It was a federal system of government that divided power between the Roman Senate and the People’s Assembly.
In the 1st century BC, the Roman Republic was replaced by the Roman Empire, which was ruled by a dictator called the Roman Emperor. The Roman Empire saw the construction of many impressive buildings and the expansion of the Roman military. However, it has also seen numerous internal conflicts, including the rise of various factions vying for power.
Despite these challenges, the Roman Empire was able to endure for more than five centuries, until it finally collapsed in the 5th century. Today, the legacy of the Roman Empire can be seen in the many cultural and architectural achievements it left behind.
Reading Comprehension Test #21
A commercial bank is a financial institution that provides services such as accepting deposits, giving business loans, mortgage lending, and basic investment products such as savings accounts and certificates of deposit. The commercial bank is also called a joint-stock bank because it is organized on the lines of joint-stock companies. A commercial bank deals with money accepts deposits and advances short-term loans to traders. Its main aim is to earn profit and create demand deposits which serve as a medium of exchange.
A commercial bank helps traders and industrialists by providing financial assistance. Its cheques and drafts are useful for large-scale trading. It accepts deposits from people who have a surplus amount and provides loans to investors who are in need of productive activity. Thus, they encourage savings and promote production activities by investing in them. It helps in the distribution of surplus capital from regions where it is abundant and transfers it to a scarce region. It provides concessional loans to the priority sectors such as agriculture, small-scale industry, retail trade, and export.
Reading Comprehension Test #22
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said:—Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter’d visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp’d on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock’d them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Reading Comprehension Test #23
The athletes had come from all over the country
To run for the gold, for the silver and bronze
Many weeks and months of training
All coming down to these games.
The spectators gathered around the old field
To cheer on all the young women and men
The final event of the day was approaching
Excitement grew high to begin.
The blocks were all lined up for those who would use them
The hundred-yard dash and the race to be run
These were nine resolved athletes in back of the starting line
Poised for the sound of the gun.
The signal was given, the pistol exploded
And so did the runners all charging ahead
But the smallest among them, he stumbled and staggered
And fell to the asphalt instead.
He gave out a cry in frustration and anguish
His dreams and his efforts all dashed in the dirt
But as sure as I’m standing here telling this story
The same goes for what next occurred.
The eight other runners pulled up on their heels
The ones who had trained for so long to compete
One by one they all turned around and went back to help him
And brought the young boy to his feet. ——David Roth
Reading Comprehension Test #24
It is important that you recognize the signs of stress in your behavior, and be healthy enough to enjoy your success. Stress can strike anytime, in a fashion that may leave you unaware of its presence in your life. While a certain amount of pressure is necessary for performance, it is important to be able to recognize your individual threshold. For instance, some individuals accept competition healthily. Others collapse into weeping wrecks before an exam or compare mark sheets and find that their mates have scored better.
Whenever there is a change in the external environment such as temperature, pollutants, humidity, and working conditions, it leads to stress. In these days of competition, when a person makes up his mind to surpass what others have achieved, leading to an imbalance between demands and resources causes psycho-social stress. It is a part and parcel of everyday life.
Stress has a different meaning depending on the stage of life you’re in. The loss of a toy or a reprimand from the parents might create a stress shock in a child. An adolescent who fails an examination may feel as if everything has been lost and life has no further meaning. In an adult, the loss of a companion, job, or professional failure may appear as if there is nothing more to be achieved.
Stress can be seen in the attitude and behavior of the individual, such as muscle tension in various parts of the body, palpitation and high blood pressure, indigestion, and hyperacidity, and ultimately in self-destructive behavior such as eating and drinking too much, smoking excessively, relying on tranquilizers, trembling, shaking, nervous blinking, dryness of throat and mouth and difficulty in swallowing. The professional under stress behaves as if he is a perfectionist followed by depression, lethargy, and weakness for further work. Periodic mood shifts also indicate the stress status of students, executives, and professionals.
Reading Comprehension Test #25
The first two years of life are a critical ‘window of opportunity.’ In this period, it is possible to prevent the largely irreversible damage that follows early childhood undernutrition. There are 805 million undernourished people in the world today. That means one in nine people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life.
Hunger and malnutrition are in fact the number one risk to health worldwide—greater than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. Three-quarters of all hungry people live in rural areas, mainly in the villages of Asia and Africa. An estimated 146 million children in developing countries are underweight—the result of acute or chronic hunger. Poverty trap, lack of investment in agriculture, natural calamities, war and displacement, unstable markets, and food wastage are the major causes for the presence of hunger in the world. Hunger leads to malnutrition, which in turn causes diseases. Malnutrition is the largest single, According to the UN’s Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN), a contributor to disease in the world.
Malnutrition at an early age leads to reduced physical and mental development during childhood. According to the World Bank, India is one of the highest-ranking countries in the world for the number of children suffering from malnutrition. One of the major causes of malnutrition in India is gender inequality. Because of the low social status of Indian women, their diet often lacks in both quality and quantity. Women who suffer from malnutrition are less likely to have healthy babies. In India, mothers generally lack proper knowledge in feeding children. Consequently, newborn infants are unable to get an adequate amount of nutrition from their mothers.
Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar have very high rates of undernutrition. Studies show that individuals belonging to Hindu, Jain, or Muslim backgrounds in India tend to be more malnourished than those from Sikh or Christian backgrounds. The Akshaya Patra Foundation runs the world’s largest NGO-run midday meal program serving freshly cooked meals to over 1.3 million schoolchildren in government and government-aided schools in India. However, the challenge for all these programs and schemes is how to increase efficiency, impact, and coverage.
Reading Comprehension Test #26
In these trying times, when buying ordinary foodstuff can burn a hole in our pockets, comes the news that can actually help us save some hard cash when we go out to shop the next time. According to a Stanford University study, a first of its kind in the world, there is no evidence to suggest that there are more nutritional benefits from expensive organic food than those grown by conventional methods.
The researchers add that there is no difference in protein and fat content between organic and conventional milk and the vitamin count is similar in both types. The only benefit is that organic foods are not contaminated with pesticides, but then, before you chew on that plate of organic okra with roti made from organic wheat, they are not 100% pesticide-free either.
In India, organic food has been growing at 20–22% and the export market is valued at `1,000 crores. Obviously, the study is not good news for that sector and for people who are big on organic food.
In India, eating organic food is more of a style statement than due to health worries because the stuff is expensive. But people can, do indulge in not only organic vegetables but even organic eggs laid by ‘happy hens’, who are allowed to roam around freely, whereas ‘unhappy hens’ are kept in coops.
Then some companies have installed music channels in their cowsheds and the milk from those sheds is sold at a marked-up price since it has more nutritional value because the animals are happy thanks to lilting 24 × 7 music. We don‘t know yet of any farmer using music to improve his crop quality, but then you never know: plants are known to respond to music.
Why such pickiness about food? These days, the huge number of TV shows and articles that we see and read on food provide bread and butter for specialists. But instead of decoding food, its sources, and what has gone into growing it, isn‘t it much better to enjoy what‘s on the plate?
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