List of top English Questions on Reading Comprehension asked in UP Board XII

The first thing that a scholar should bear in mind is that a book ought not to be read for mere amusement. Half-educated persons read for amusement, and are not to be blamed for it; they are incapable of appreciating the deeper qualities that belong to a really great literature. But a young man who has passed through a course of university training should discipline himself at an early day never to read for mere amusement. And once the habit of this discipline has been formed, he will find it impossible to read for mere amusement. He will then impatiently throw down any book from which he cannot obtain intellectual food, any book that does not make an appeal to the higher emotions and to his intellect. But on the other hand, the habit of reading for amusement becomes with thousands of people exactly the same kind of habit as wine-drinking or opium-smoking; it is like a narcotic; something that helps to pass the time, something that keeps up a perpetual condition of dreaming, something that eventually results in destroying all capacity for thought, giving exercise only to the surface parts of the mind, and leaving the deeper springs of feeling and the higher faculties of perception unemployed.

Out of debt, out of danger is, like many other proverbs, full of wisdom ; but the word 'danger' does not sufficiently express all that the warning demands. To one that is not insensible, a state of debt is a state of positive misery ; the sufferer is as one haunted by an evil spirit, and his heart can know neither rest nor peace till it is cast out. But as example is at all times more instructive than mere words of mouth, a living writer shall describe his own feelings when beset with creditors, and perhaps he may prove a beacon to the thoughtless ones who are likely to fall into the same gulf.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Early rising leads to health and happiness. The man who rises late, can have little rest in the course of the day. Anyone who lies in bed late is compelled to work till a late hour in the evening. He has to do without the evening exercise which is so necessary for his health. In spite of all his efforts his work will not produce as good results as that of the early riser. The reason for this is that he cannot take advantage of the refreshing hours of the morning. Some people say that the quiet hour of midnight is the best time for working. Several great thinkers say that they can write best only when they burn the midnight oil. Yet it is true to say that few men have a clear brain at midnight when the body needs rest and sleep. Those who work at that time, soon ruin their health. Bad health must, in the long run, have a bad effect on the quality of their work.

Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness: but will keep
A bower quiet for us and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams and health and
Quiet breathing.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: We know it well that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb-nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses uses language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he uses it as an instrument of thought. When the two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. It seems that language is a multipurpose instrument. Language enables us to influence people's behaviour and help develop human co-operation. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language as it makes human co-operation more thorough, more effective and more wide-ranging.

Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow: Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear
The thought of so much childish longing in vain.
The sadness that lurks near the open window there,
That waits all day in almost open prayer.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
The Indian National Army plans went away with the defeat of Japan. Subhash Bose was killed in a plane accident while on his way to Tokyo. It is true that many leaders did not like the idea of India winning freedom with the assistance of a country like Japan and her fascist allies. But during the closing years of the war, Subhash Bose and the Indian National Army served to hold up the dropping spirits of the nationalist Indians at home, who were feeling helpless and frustrated. They set before all sections of the Indian people, including those serving in the army, an example of courage and patriotism which was both inspiring and ennobling. Therefore, when the Government announced their decision to prosecute some of the Indian National Army officers for treason because they had broken their oath of loyalty to the British crown, there was a wave of nationalist protest. There were massive demonstrations all over the country. There were persistent demands that the officers should be released.

Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Perhaps the Earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.
Now I'll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.

Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

Early rising leads to health and happiness. The man who rises late, can have little rest in the course of the day. Anyone, who lies in bed late, is compelled to work till a late hour in the evening. He has to go without the evening exercise which is so necessary for his health. In spite of all his efforts, his work will not produce as good a result, as that of the early riser.
The reason for this is that he cannot take advantage of the refreshing hours of the morning. Some people say that the quiet hour of midnight is the best time for working. Several great thinkers say that they can write best only when they burn the midnight oil. Yet it is true to say that few men have a clear brain at midnight when the body needs rest and sleep. Those who work at that time soon ruin their health. Bad health must, in the long run, have a bad effect on the quality of their work.

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.

Why are examinations such a terror? Perhaps because chance plays such a great part in them. The examination paper is like a lottery—uncertain, undependable. The element of uncertainty and surprise is bound to shake the most confident examinee. Sometimes our nervousness is so great that we seem to forget our best-prepared lessons. Before the examination, we feel sure of doing well, but once the question paper is before us, our mind becomes perfectly blank. We fail to recall our most memorised lessons. Some candidates even faint in the examination hall. The question paper springs a complete surprise. None of the 'sure hints', over which we have spent days and nights, appear in the examination. On the contrary, just those very topics, which we left out as unimportant and unexpected, stare us in the face. In Geography, we prepared the map of Europe, but we are required to draw a free-hand map of Asia and the question is compulsory. Surely the fates and their friend, the examiner, have played a cruel joke upon us.

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever Its loveliness increases, it will never Pass into nothingness; but will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health and quiet breathing.

Man's life is not measured by the number of days, months and years that he has lived, but by the deeds he has done and by the achievements he has made. What is the real significance in life is not the quantity, but the quality of experience. A short life devoted to noble endeavours is far more valuable than a long life of over a hundred years spent in trivial pursuits. We live in deeds and not in years. Noble deeds, splendid ideas and fine sentiments constitute the real glory of character and not the length of time one has lived in the world.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness, but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

No concise statement of the political philosophy of Confucius has come down to us, but it is possible to reconstruct its main outlines. Clearly, he believed that government should be aimed at bringing about the welfare and happiness of the whole people. This, he thought, could be done only when the government was administered by the most capable men in the country. Such capability has nothing to do with birth, or death, or position, but solely a matter of character and knowledge. These are produced by proper education. Education should therefore be widely diffused so that the most talented men in the whole population might be prepared for the business of the government. And the administration of the government should be handed over to such men, without regard to their origin.

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

The persons who worked in the mines were mainly criminals or prisoners of war, but with those, there were many Romans of good family, who were the innocent victims of the Emperor’s wrath. All alike were forced to labour, without distinction of sex or birth. The labourers were under the eye of a merciless overseer, who showered blows upon them at the slightest provocation. In order to keep down the expenses, no clothes were provided for the prisoners, and often they possessed not a rag to hide their nakedness. In good or bad health they were forced to work, and neither the weakness of age nor the fever or sickness was regarded as proper cause for idleness even of an hour. Nor was there any chance to escape, for sentries were posted on every hilltop, and the soldiers were ready to give chase, should a man elude the watchman. So great were the sufferings of life, that death was hailed with joy and it was the dying man who possessed a single thought of happiness.

That for themselves a cooling covert make
'Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read:
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.

A man who possesses a strong will and firm determination, finds all difficulties solved. To him, there are a number of ways open to steer clear of all dangers and difficulties. Such a man goes on working hard, and even if he fails he is never downcast. Failures make him all the more determined and he persists in his task till he attains the desired success.
Therefore, the man who works hard with a strong resolution and an unshaken will, achieves success and makes his fortune. It is a folly to suppose that wealth, fame or power are achieved by luck, or destiny. A man can be the builder of his own fortune by sheer dint of perseverance, industry and strong will. The man who is lazy, sluggish and refrains from doing his duties, invites trouble and suffering in his life.

Perhaps the Earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.
Now I'll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

Many people complain that they have broken down through over-work. In the majority of such cases, the break-down is more frequently the result of foolishly wasted energy. If you would secure health, you must learn to work without friction. To become anxious or excited or to worry over needless details is to invite a breakdown. Work whether of brain or body is beneficial and health-giving and the man who can work with a steady and calm persistency, free from all anxiety and worry, and with his mind utterly oblivious to all but the work he has in hand, will not only accomplish far more than the man who is always hurried and anxious, but he will retain his health, a boon which the other quickly forfeits.

What was the vow of the Maharaja? How did he fulfil it and what danger did he face?

A thing of beauty is a joy forever :
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness; but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.