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.