Reading Comprehension Practice – Part 1
1. Asia’s new generation of kids has more than just
Passage A
1. One reason that so many people fail is that they
lack confidence in themselves. If you think of
yourself as being unworthy of great
achievement, you will never achieve greatness.
If, on the other hand, you know yourself and
understand what your abilities are, and if then
you are determined to accomplish and gain
confidence in yourself.
2. One of the surest ways to accomplish this is for
you to associate with persons who have really
achieved greatness. It is impossible, however,
for most people to come frequently into the
actual presence of the great. The next best thing,
perhaps, is for you to spend part of your time in
reading about great achievers. Biography is a
powerful stimulant to action.
3. But these processes will not work unless you rid
yourself of a sense of inferiority and determined
to do the best that you possibly can. One of the
great philosophers expressed the idea in a single
sentence when he said that each individual
should hitch his wagon to a star.
1. What is the main idea of the selection?
a. Self-confidence is hard to achieve
b. Many people suffer from an inferiority complex
c. Knowing oneself leads to great achievement in life
d. Self-confidence is the key factor in achieving success
in life
2. Which paragraph/s gives/give specific suggestions on
how to develop confidence in  oneself?
a. Paragraph 1             b. Paragraph 2          to the aged.
c. Paragraph 1 and 3     d. Paragraph 2 and 3
3. What word is synonymous or closest in meaning to
the word “hitch” as used in the last sentence of the
selection?
a. drive   b. fasten          c. detach             d. remove
4. Successful people are different from those who are not
because they
a. Work hard at having faith in their abilities.
b. Persevere to achieve greatness.
c. Hesitate to take risk by themselves.
d. Disregard the opinions of others.
5. What does the saying “Each individual should hitch
his wagon to a star” mean?
a. One should try to fulfill all his ambitions in life.
b. A person should emulate his ideal person.
c. A person should aim as high as he could reach.
d. One should wish upon a star to make his dreams come
true.
6. What literary technique was used by the writer in
presenting his ideas?
a. Narration                           c. Comparing ideas
b. Detailed analysis               d. Giving suggestions
7. According to the author, what is one of the surest
ways to achieve self-confidence?
a. Read lots of informative books
b. Deal with people who have achieved greatness
c. Be-friend people who are self-sufficient
d. Develop a strong and independent personality
8. Based on the selection, what conclusion may be
drawn?
a. Confidence in oneself is crucial in achieving success
b. Associating with well-known individuals is enough to
propel one to succeed
c. Reading the biographies of great people is essential
for one to become successful
d. Confidence in the ability of others is needed to boost
one’s chances of succeeding
Passage B
youth in common. Whether in Manila,
Hongkong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta or
Tokyo, whether rich or poor, urban or rural,
delinquent or not, Asia’s youngsters share many
things. They go to schools, sing-along bars, fast
food outlets, rock concert and rallies. They are
dressed in wild costumes of screaming colors or
black, leather jackets, outsize t-shirts and candy-
colored sneakers.
2. In Manila, they are particularly called “bagets”.
Their pursuits, though seemingly inane are
innocent – singing-along with the gang at the
malls, sharing cheeseburgers and sodas or
cruising the commercial center of Cubao and
Makati.
3. In Bangkok, they will wander about the Siam
Shopping Center, in Singapore, in the shopping
complexes of Orchard Road. They are kids of
Asia’s great cities, avant-garde, rebellious,
modernized. They are exposed to imported
television that usher in international values.
4. In Hongkong, the kids have been described as
precocious, world-wise, and materialistic,
governed less by teachers and parents than by
the omnipresent television. Peer group influence
is great. Their trademarks are smoking, foul
language, bizarre and attention-getting
appearance, and rude mannerisms.
5. In Japan, they look like different race to the old
generation. There is rising drug abuse, sexual
freedom, crime and homosexuality among the
youth. There’s less respect given to parents and
9. The passage is about Asia’s
a. lost generation            c. urbanized society
b. delinquent youth         d. new generation of youth
10. It can be inferred from the passage that Asia’s youth
a. have senseless pursuit
b. share many common goals
 c. have been influenced by western culture
d. have varied dreams and ambitions
11. What is worth observing and good about the youth
beneath the modern image and westernized lifestyle?
a. The youth are still the easy-go-lucky type.
b. Many of them still believe in traditional values.
c. They share a common character as influenced by the
media.
d. The values of the new generation have been modified
by modernization.
12. When the author said that Asian youth are avant-
garde, it means that they
a. are behind the times  
b. have old-fashioned thoughts    
c. are promiscuous and stubborn
d. practice new and experimental ideas
13. What conclusion can be drawn out of the passage?
a. Peers are just companions, they don’t influence others.
b. Print and broadcast media have a great influence on
the youth.
c. Discipline at home has nothing to do with the
character of the youth today.
d. Character is hereditary, the environment has nothing
to do with what was become of the youth today.
14. If the youth are exposed to too much western
television they will likely
a. Develop foreign values and forget traditional ones.
b. Become complacent and indifferent.
c. Become aggressive and violent.
d. Develop an independent mind.
15. What literary technique was used by the author in
writing the selection?
a. Comparing                b. Describing              d. The officer did not think the Rosetta Stone had much
c. Making profile          d. Narrating events
Passage C
1. In the year 1799, an officer of the French Army
was stationed in a small fortress on the Rosetta
River, a mouth of the Nile, near Alexander,
Egypt. He was interested in the ruins of the
ancient Egyptian civilization, and had seen the
sphinx and the pyramids, those mysterious
structures that were erected by men of another
era.
2. One day, as a trench was being dug, he found a
piece of black slate on which letters had been
carved. He had studied Greek in school, and
knew this was an inscription written in that
language. There were two more lines carved into
the stone: one on the Egyptian characters he had
seen on the ruins , the other in completely
unfamiliar characters.
3. The officer realized the importance of such a
find, and relinquished it to scholars who had
been puzzling over Egyptian inscriptions.
4. In 1802, a french professor by the name of
Champollion began studying the stone in an
attempt to decipher the two unknown sets of
characters using the Greek letters as a key. He
worked with the stone for over twenty years, and
in 1823, announced that he had discovered the
meaning of the fourteen signs, and in doing so,
had unlocked the secret of ancient Egyptian
writing.
5. Some 5000 years after an unknown person had
made those three inscriptions, the Rosetta Stone
became a key, unlocking the written records of
Egypt and sharing the history of that civilization
with the rest of the world.
16. What is the main idea of the selection?
a. French scholars worked hard in studying ancient
history.
b. Ancient Egyptians wrote and preserved their history in
stones.
c. The discovery of the Rosetta Stone led to a better
understanding of the history of    Egypt.
d. A French Army officer studied the Rosetta Stone and
the inscriptions carved into it.
17.In which country was the Rosetta Stone found?
a. Egypt                       b. Greece                   factory owners.
c. France                  d. Alexandra
18.What word would best describe ancient Egyptians
based on the selection?
a. dedicated                b. resourceful           opinion that fewer births and less gadgetry may
c. wise                     d. gifted
19.What might have happened if the Rosetta Stone were
not found?
a. Egyptian civilization would have flourished.
b. Ancient Egypt would have not reached the peak of its
glory.
c. Ancient Egyptians would have not known of their
cultural heritage.
d. Egyptian civilization would have not been fully
understood by the modern world.
20.What does the lone sentence in the third paragraph
mean?
a. The owner of the Rosetta Stone tried to sell it to
scholars.
b. The Egyptians scholars were puzzled by the
inscriptions found in the Rosetta Stone.
c. The founder of the Rosetta Stone knew of its value
and turned it over to the proper authorities.
value and therefore gave it away.
21.What literary technique was used by the writer in
developing the passage?
a. Detailed analysis                       
b. Comparison and contrast of ideas
c. Narrative chronological order of events
d. Repetition of important points for emphasis
22. What conclusion may be drawn from the passage?
a. Egypt has a rich civilization dating back to the earliest
times.
b. Egypt has a mysterious culture which remained
unknown.
c. Egypt was an ancient country with no significant
history.
d. Egypt’s civilization benefited only those in ancient
times.
Passage D
1. The complacent Filipino majority may not have
been awakened yet to the reality of a ravaged
environment; nonetheless, the evidence must be
overemphasized. Automotive vehicles for one,
reportedly contribute 94.6 million tons of waste
released into the air each year, a commuter can
only imagine how polluted the air that gets into
his respiratory system is.
2. Pollution experts are inclined to single out man
as the culprit of his own destruction. Man,
rightly referred to as a “messy animal,” has
helped being about untold environmental decay.
3. Imperiled by the pollution of air, water and land
are not only human lives. The marine species as
well as the flora and fauna are just adversely
affected. Mass suicides of fishes and whales
have been witnessed along Australian and
American shorelines.
4. The mushrooming of factories and plants along
river banks have been largely responsible for the
pollution of the different bodies of water,
indiscriminate disposal of industrial waste
makes festering sinks of the rivers. Too much
dumping of industrial waste renders to water
stagnant. Many of the rivers that used to flow
along industrial banks can use some dredging.
And yet what good will dredging of a river do if
in no time at all it will serve again as dumping
basin? The initiative has to come from the
5. A great number of scientists like or think that
new technology can be called upon to check the
impending pollution disaster, others are of the
yet provide the answer to the devastating
dilemma. It cannot be denied, however, that
man’s wasteful ways call for some measure of
discipline.
6. Man’s brutality toward his environment will
only lead to his unmarking. It is ironical, indeed,
that he who was created to have dominion over
every living creature on earth should one day be
overpowered by an environment he has helped
to pollute. The catastrophe can hopefully still be
averted.
23. What does the selection generally urge man to
realize?
a. The threat of environmental pollution to each country
b. The necessity of taking immediate steps to solve the
pollution problem
c. The scope of the problem of environmental pollution 21. c. Narrative chronological order of events
d. The steps to take in checking the impending pollution 22. a. Egypt has a rich civilization dating back to the
disaster earliest times.
24. The phrase “mushrooming of factories” are used in 23. b. The necessity of taking immediate steps to solve
the fourth paragraph of the selection refers to factories the pollution problem
which are 24. a. built
a. built           b. destroyed                  25. c. Fifth paragraph
c. maintained              d. abandoned 26. d. Man
25. In what part of the passage can you read of the ways 27. b. Pollution, if unchecked, can bring about the
we can prevent pollution? destruction of man.
a. First paragraph         b. Fourth paragraph         28. a. Man will be destroyed by an environment he had
c. Fifth paragraph        d. Last paragraph polluted.
26. Who is referred to in the phrase “a messy animal” in 29. a. Man’s wasteful ways are a perennial problem.
the second paragraph of the passage?
a. Fishes and whales         b. Flora and fauna         
c. Scientist               d. Man
27. What is implied in the last paragraph of the passage?
a. Man failed to realize the seriousness of the pollution
problem.
b. Pollution, if unchecked, can bring about the
destruction of man.
c. Man does not deserve to be the master of His creation.
d. There is no need to be alarmed of the pollution
problem.
28. What would be the likely outcome if we continue
polluting our environment?
a. Man will be destroyed by an environment he had
polluted.
b. Less births and less gadgetry will save the world from
catastrophe  .
c. Technology can help check the problem on
environmental pollution.
d. Man’s wasteful ways will contribute more to the
pollution of the environment.
29. Which of the following statements show a cause and
effect relationship?
a. Man’s wasteful ways are a perennial problem.
b. Man’s brutality toward his destruction.
c. The marine species and the flora and fauna are
adversely affected.
d. Mass suicide of fishes and whales have been seen
along coastlines

ANSWERS:

1. d. Self-confidence is the key factor in achieving

success in life
2. b. Paragraph 2
3. b. fasten
4. a. Work hard at having faith in their abilities.
5. b. A person should emulate his ideal person.
6. d. Giving suggestions
7. b. Deal with people who have achieved greatness
8. a. Confidence in oneself is crucial in achieving
success
9. d. new generation of youth
10. c. have been influenced by western culture
11. b. Many of them still believe in traditional values.
12. d. practice new and experimental ideas
13. b. Print and broadcast media have a great influence
on the youth.
14. a. Develop foreign values and forget traditional
ones.
15. c. Making profile              
16. c. The discovery of the Rosetta Stone led to a better
understanding of the history of    Egypt.
17. a. Egypt
18. c. wise
19. c. Ancient Egyptians would have not known of their
cultural heritage.
20. c. The founder of the Rosetta Stone knew of its value
and turned it over to the proper authorities.