Reading Comprehension Passage 35 MCQ Test With Answers

Questions must be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage itself, and not on the basis of what you may know independently about the subject matter.

Reading Comprehension Passage 35 MCQ Test

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Question 1

(Please note: The following questions are related to a specific reading passage, which is available solely before the first question. Remember, it may be helpful to refer back to the reading text while answering the questions to ensure accuracy.)

LIFE IN AN OCCUPIED TOWN

The days and the weeks dragged on, and the months dragged on. The snow fell and melted and fell and melted and finally fell and stuck. The dark buildings of the little town wore bells and hats and eyebrows of white and there were trenches through the snow to the doorways. In the harbour, the coal barges came empty and went away loaded, but the coal did not come out of the ground easily. The good miners made mistakes. They were clumsy and slow. The machinery broke and took a long time to fix. The people of the conquered country settled in a slow, silent, waiting revenge. The men who had been traitors, who had helped the invaders -- and many of them believed it was for a better state and ideal way of life -- found that the control they took was insecure, that the people they had known looked at them coldly and never spoke.

And there was death in the air, hovering and waiting. Many accidents happened on the railroad, which clung to the mountains and connected the little town with the rest of the nation. Avalanches poured down on the tracks and rails were spread. No train could move unless the tracks were first inspected. People were shot in reprisal and it made no difference. Now and then a group of young men escaped and went to England. And the English bombed the coal mine and did some damage and killed some of both their friends and their enemies. And it did no good. The cold hatred grew with the winter, the silent, sullen hatred, the waiting hatred. The food supply was controlled -- issued only to the obedient and withheld from the disobedient -- so that the whole population turned coldly obedient. There was a point where food could not be withheld, for a starving man can not mine coal, cannot lift and carry. And the hatred was deep in the eyes of the people, beneath the surface.

John STEINBECK, The Moon Is Down.

Read the first paragraph carefully and cross out the inappropriate statement below:

A	This was a harbour town where the outgoing ships were loaded with the locally produced coal.
B	The miners were making deliberate mistakes.
C	The snow fell and melted a couple of times before it finally stayed on the ground.
D	The townsfolk were not harbouring any friendly feelings toward the invaders.
E	Some of the townsfolk had turned traitor because they had been bought by the enemy.

Question 2

Read the second paragraph carefully and cross out the inappropriate statement

A	The railroad had to cross over a mountainous area in order to reach the rest of the country.
B	The invaders made good use of the food rations in order to enforce order and discipline on the people.
C	The so-called accidents were in fact acts of sabotage.
D	Some young English soldiers made their escape and went to England.
E	England was a friendly country, as far as the townsfolk were concerned.

Question 3

The story is set in ............... country.

A	an imaginary
B	a conquered
C	a mountainous
D	the invaders'
E	another

Question 4

Some of the men had turned traitors because

A	they had fought against the invaders.
B	most of them had believed the occupation would benefit their country.
C	the control they took was insecure.
D	the townsfolk had treated them badly.
E	a starving man cannot mine coal, cannot lift and carry.

Question 5

The best thing the invaders could do to stop the would-be saboteurs proved to be

A	shooting people in reprisal.
B	bombing the coal mine.
C	killing both their friends and enemies.
D	giving food rations to only those who obeyed.
E	making friends with the traitors.