Reading Comprehension — Practice Questions
CSAT-pattern reading comprehension practice with original passages — central theme, inference, assumption, tone and corollary questions, each fully explained.
Questions
These are original CSAT-pattern practice questions written for this site — not past UPSC papers. Read each passage once, attempt every question, then reveal the solution. Target time for the whole set: about 10 minutes.
Passage 1
For most of the history of agriculture, farmers saved seed from their own harvest and exchanged it with neighbours. Over generations this produced a large number of local varieties, each suited to a particular soil, rainfall pattern or taste. Modern plant breeding replaced many of these with a few high-yielding varieties that perform very well when water and fertiliser are assured. The gain in output was real and helped feed growing populations. The loss was less visible. A field planted with one variety is uniform: if a new pest or an unusual drought strikes, every plant is equally exposed. A field of mixed local varieties rarely produces the highest yield in a good year, but it seldom fails completely in a bad one. Farmers who grow for the market reasonably prefer the first kind of field; farmers who grow mainly to feed their own families often prefer the second. Conserving local varieties in seed banks preserves their genes, but not the knowledge of how and where to grow them, which survives only if farmers continue to use them. Policy that values only yield per hectare will therefore keep narrowing the base on which future breeding depends.
What is the most crucial message conveyed by Passage 1?
Solution
The passage makes two moves: it accepts that the gain in output “was real”, and then argues that uniform varieties leave every plant equally exposed and that a yield-only policy narrows the base for future breeding. Option B carries both halves.
- A contradicts the passage — the gain in output is called real.
- C is reversed — the passage says seed banks preserve genes but not the knowledge of how to grow the varieties.
- D is out of scope — no comparison of efficiency is made.
Answer: B
Which one of the following can be inferred from Passage 1?
Solution
A mixed field “rarely produces the highest yield in a good year” but “seldom fails completely in a bad one”, and family-oriented farmers “often prefer” it. So trading some yield for stability is a rational choice for them — D must be true.
- A uses the universal word “always” and claims higher yields; the passage only says mixed fields seldom fail completely.
- B contradicts the passage — market farmers “reasonably prefer” high-yielding fields.
- C is reversed — seed banks preserve genes, not knowledge.
Answer: D
The author’s conclusion that a yield-only policy “will keep narrowing the base on which future breeding depends” is based on which one of the following assumptions?
Solution
Negation test on A: “future breeding will never need traits from local varieties.” Then losing local varieties narrows nothing that matters, and the conclusion falls apart. So A is necessary.
- B is extreme — the passage says these varieties perform well when water is assured, not that they cannot grow otherwise.
- C is a prediction the argument does not need; the case rests on exposure to shocks, not their frequency.
- D is out of scope for this conclusion.
Answer: A
With reference to Passage 1, consider the following statements:
- Seed banks alone are sufficient to conserve local varieties fully.
- High-yielding varieties perform very well when water and fertiliser are assured.
- A field of mixed local varieties seldom fails completely in a bad year.
How many of the above statements are valid as per the passage?
Solution
- Statement 1 — invalid. Seed banks preserve the genes, but the knowledge of how and where to grow the varieties “survives only if farmers continue to use them”.
- Statement 2 — valid, stated directly.
- Statement 3 — valid, stated directly.
Two statements are valid.
Answer: B
Passage 2
Almost every new medium of communication has met the complaint that it would make people shallower or more distracted. Some of these fears were exaggerated, but not all were groundless: each medium did change what people paid attention to and for how long. The useful question is therefore not whether a new medium harms us, but which habits it rewards and whether we adopt those habits deliberately.
Which one of the following best describes the author’s approach in Passage 2?
Solution
The author concedes that some fears were exaggerated but “not all were groundless”, and then shifts the question to which habits a medium rewards. That is a balanced approach (C).
- A and B each take one side only, and use universal words (“always”, “inevitably”).
- D contradicts the passage, which says each medium did change attention.
Answer: C
Passage 3
A rule that people obey only when someone is watching is not yet a social norm; it is a threat. A norm forms when people expect others to comply and believe they themselves ought to comply. Enforcement can start this process, but if fear of penalty is the only reason for compliance, behaviour slips back the moment enforcement weakens.
Which one of the following is the most logical corollary to Passage 3?
Solution
The passage grants that enforcement “can start this process” but says compliance resting only on fear does not last; durable norms need expectations and beliefs. D is the natural next step.
- A and B contradict “enforcement can start this process”.
- C is universal (“only”) and contradicts the passage’s own account of how norms form.
Answer: D