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Reading Comprehension is the toughest part in English. The below passage is High Level RC. Practice it. Share with your friends.

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Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are printed in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions:-

We find that today the unity and integrity of the nation is threatened by the divisive forces of regionalism, linguism and communal loyalties which are gaining ascendancy in national life and seeking to tear apart and destroy national integrity. We tend to forget that India is one nation and we are all Indians first and Indians last. It is time we remind ourselves what the great visionary and builder of modern India Jawaharlal Nehru said, “Who dies if India lives, who lives if India dies?” We must realise, and this is unfortunately what many in public life tend to overlook, sometimes out of ignorance of the forces of history and sometimes deliberately with a view to promoting their self interest, that national interest must inevitably and forever prevail over any other considerations proceeding from regional, linguistic or communal attachments. The history of India over the past centuries bears witness to the fact that India was at no time a single political unit. Even during the reign of the Maurya dynasty, though a large part of the country was under the sovereignty of the Mauryan kings, there were considerable portions of the territory which were under the rule of independent kingdoms. So also during the Mughal rule which extended over large parts of the territory of India, there were independent rulers who enjoyed political sovereignty over the territories of their respective kingdoms. It is an interesting fact of history that India was forged into a nation, neither on account of a common language nor on account of the continued existence of a single political regime over its territories but on account of a common culture evolved over the centuries. It is cultural unity—something more fundamental and enduring than any other bond which may unite the people of a country together which has welded this country into a nation. But until the advent of the British rule, it was not constituted into a single political unit. There were, throughout the period of history for which we have fairly authenticated accounts, various kingdoms and principalities which were occasionally engaged in conflict with one another. During the British rule, India became a compact political unit having one single political regime over its entire territories and this led to the evolution of the

concept of a nation. This concept of one nation took firm roots in the minds and hearts of the people during the struggle for independence under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. He has rightly been called the Father of the Nation because it was he who awakened in the people of this country a sense of national consciousness and instilled in them a high sense of patriotism without which it is not possible to build a country into nationhood. By the time the Constitution of India came to be enacted, insurgent India, breaking a new path of non-violent revolution and fighting to free itself from the shackles of foreign domination, had emerged into nationhood and “the people of India” were inspired by a new enthusiasm, a high and noble spirit of sacrifice and above all, a strong sense of nationalism and in the Constitution which they framed. They set about the task of a strong nation based on certain cherished values for which they had fought.

1. The author has quoted Jawaharlal Nehru to emphasise the point that
(a) national interest must enjoy supreme importance
(b) India is going to survive even if the world is under the spell of destruction
(c) the world will be destroyed if India is on the threshold of destruction
(d) the survival of the world depends only upon the well being of India
(e) None of these
2. What, according to the author, is the impact of the divisive forces on our nation?
(a) They promote a sense of regional pride.
(b) They help people to form linguistic groups.
(c) They separate groups of people and create enmity among them.
(d) They encourage among people the sense of loyalty to their community.
(e) They remind us of our national pride.

3. “Communal loyalties” have been considered by the author as
(a) a good quality to be cherished
(b) of no consequence to the nation
(c) a very important aspect for nation-building
(d) a threat to the solidarity of the nation
(e) None of these
4. Which of the following was instrumental in holding the different people of India together?
(a) A common national language
(b) A common cultural heritage
(c) The endurance level of the people
(d) Fundamentalist bent of mind of the people
(e) None of these
5. The passage appears to have been written with the purpose of
(a) giving a piece of advice to politicians of free India
(b) assessing the patriotic values and sacrifices made by people for India’s freedom
(c) justifying the teaching of Mahatma Gandhi and its impact on the people
(d) giving a historical account of how India evolved as a nation
(e) None of these
6. History shows that India, which was not a political unit earlier, became so
(a) during the reign of Maurya dynasty
(b) during the Mughal rule
(c) after one-national-language policy was adopted
(d) during the regime of independent rulers
(e) during the British rule
7. Why do people tend to overlook the paramount importance of national interest?
(A) Because they are unaware of the imperative need of the day
(B) Because they give undue importance to their selfish motives
(C) Because historical events force them to do so
(a) Only A (b) Only B
(c) Only C (d) A and B only
(e) B and C only
8. The “people of India”, as highlighted by the author in the last sentence of the passage, refer to
(a) the people of one unified nation
(b) the subjects of several independent rulers
(c) the patriots who sacrificed themselves in the freedom struggle
(d) the people who were instrumental in writing the Constitution
(e) None of these

9. India’s insurgence was for
(a) breaking the path of non-violence
(b) having one common national language
(c) insisting on a unique cultural identity
(d) several independent sovereign rulers
(e) None of these
10. Transformation of our country into nationhood was possible because of
(A) People’s spontaneously referring to Mahatma Gandhi as the Father of the Nation
(B) People’s sense of national consciousness
(C) Generation of a high sense of dedication to the nation among the people
(a) A and B only (b) A and C only
(c) B and C only (d) All the three
(e) None of these

II  Choose the word/group of words which is most nearly the SAME in meaning as the word given in bold as used in the passage.

11. awakened

(a) moved

(b) segregated

(c) extracted

(d) kindled

(e) supported

12. cherished

(a) maintained carefully

(b) available abundantly

(c) managed tactfully

(d) accepted happily

(e) protected lovingly

13. authenticated

(a) established

(b) documented

(c) hearsay

(d) audited

(e) maintained

III  Choose the word which is most OPPOSITE in meaning of the word given in bold as used in the passage.

14. considerable

(a) inconsiderate

(b) uncountable

(c) unfathomable

(d) irresolute

(e) negligible

15. deliberately

(a) reluctantly

(b) unintentionally

(c) unauthorisedly

(d) wrongly

(e) notoriously

Answers:-

1. (a)

2. (c) They are responsible for national disintegration.

3. (d) They are harmful to national integrity.

4. (b) India was forged into a nation on account of a common culture evolved over the centuries.

5. (a) The author wants India to remain as an ideal nation and the passage has certainly a message behind it.

6. (e)

7. (b)

8. (a)

9. (e) India’s insurgence stood for gaining freedom by adopting the path of non-violent struggle.

10. (c)

11. (d)

12. (e)

13. (a)

14. (e)

15. (b)