Comprehension (Fahm): The Unseen Passage
What Fahm tests
The comprehension question gives an unseen Urdu passage and asks for short answers, the markazi khayal, a suitable title, and vocabulary work: mutradif, mutazad, or the meaning of a muhawara in context.
Method that scores
- Read the passage once for sense, then read the questions before rereading; this tells you where to look.
- Answer in complete Urdu sentences, in the tense of the question, in your own words. A phrase fragment or a lifted sentence is penalised even when the content is right.
- For the central idea, write one sentence of the form topic plus what the writer says about it. Do not list every point.
- For a title, choose two to four words built on the passage's key noun; never a full sentence.
- For vocabulary, give the meaning the word carries in this passage, not its full dictionary range.
Worked example
Passage line: waqt ki qadr karna har kamyabi ki kunji hai, aur jo waqt ko zaya karta hai woh dar-asl apne aap ko zaya karta hai.
Question: musannif ke nazdeek kamyabi ki kunji kya hai?
Reasoning: the interrogative kya asks for a noun phrase, so answer waqt ki qadr karna. If the question says apne alfaz mein, rephrase: waqt ko zaya na karna hi kamyabi ka raasta hai. Note the tajnees between waqt ko zaya karna and apne aap ko zaya karna; mention it if a device question follows.
Traps
- Answering only one half of a two-part question.
- Copying a whole sentence when paraphrasing is required.
- Giving a synonym where an antonym is demanded.
- Drifting into English or Kannada script inside an Urdu answer.