Reading Comprehension (Unseen Passages)
Reading Comprehension (Unseen Passages) tests how well you extract meaning from a passage you have never seen. The paper usually gives a prose passage followed by questions on explicit detail, inference, vocabulary in context, main idea and tone. Marks are lost not because the passage is hard but because answers ignore what the text actually says.
Core rules
- Skim first for the gist: who, what, where, why. Then scan for the keyword in each question.
- Answer in complete sentences unless the question says 'in one word'; keep the passage's key noun.
- Separate fact from inference. 'The passage says' must be directly quoted or paraphrased; 'we can infer' must be supported by clues, not outside knowledge.
- For vocabulary-in-context, substitute each option back into the sentence and test the surrounding words.
- Track reference words: it, they, this, former, latter. The antecedent is usually in the previous sentence.
- Main idea options fail if they are too broad, too narrow, or only one detail.
Worked example
Passage line: 'After the well dried, the women of Rampur walked two kilometres to the canal before sunrise.' Question: What does this suggest about the villagers' routine? Options: (a) They disliked the canal; (b) They had to start early to fetch water; (c) The well was repaired. Reasoning: (b) is supported by 'before sunrise' and 'walked two kilometres'; (a) adds an emotion not stated; (c) contradicts 'dried'. Answer: (b).
Traps
Copying a whole sentence instead of answering; choosing an option that is true in real life but absent from the passage; missing 'not' in the question; confusing the author's view with a quoted speaker's view.