COMPREHENSION MADE EASY

COMPREHENSION MADE EASY


Read the passage / story quickly to get the general ideas.

Read it again slowly to know the details.

Study the questions thoroughly. Turn to the relevant portion of the passage / story . Read them again and write neatly in your own words.

Answer in complete sentences. If the questions require one word answer then you can give the one word answer. Answers should not be lengthy.

If you are asked to give the meaning of any word you should expess the ideas as clearly as possible in your own words.

If you are required to give a title or heading to the passage/ story, you can name it either after the main character,object, incident mentioned in the passage, or after some saying or proverb illustrated by the passage.

Give a suitable title.

SOME EXAMPLES

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

He was a stranger in that land and had not anticipated the difficulties he had to undergo. Insults were heaped on him by unthinking Americans. But through the kindness of a few people he was able to be enrolled as a delegate to the parliament of religions. There were about sixty speakers and seven thousand listners. When his turn came to speak, he bowed down to Goddess Saraswathi, stepped forward and said, " Sisters and Brothers of America". That single sincere evocation touched the hearts of the audience. They felt that some of their own circle was speaking and not a stranger. They burst into loud applause. When they became quiet, Vivekananda delivered his speech and that speech made him world famous. The very next day big pictures of Swamiji were put up in the streets. All the newspapers wrote high of him. Overnight Vivekananda bacame a hero. He was the subject of discussion everywhere. He toured extensively in America and spoke of the spirituality. Many people in England wanted Vivekananda to speak to them. So he went there too. It was the same time when the English were ruling India. But Vivekananda conquered the conquerors. They said, " What must be greatness of India if it can produce sages like Swamiji". After touring and lecturing extensisvely, he returned to his motherland.

QUESTIONS:

1) What makes you to think that it was a large gathering ?
2) How was he able to enroll himself as a delegate to the parliament of religions?
3) Why did the audience feel that some one of their own circle was speaking to them ?
4) What was the impression of the people of England about Vivekananda?
5) How did he become a hero overnight ?

Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale was moved to tears when she read about the distress of the poor wounded soldiers at Scutary. Wounded soldiers were dying in hundreds everyday. There were only a few doctors and nurses to attend the large number of wounded soldiers who were brought from the battlefield. At that time women nurses were never heard of in army hospitals. But the cry of the wounded soldiers reached the ears of Miss Nightingale and she offered her services as a nurse at the Military Hospital at Scutary. Her offer was accepted by the government. With a little band of thirty-eight nurses she sailed for Scutary.

QUESTIONS:

1) What made Miss Nightingale very sad ?
2) Why were the wounded soldiers dying in hundreds ?
3) Why did Nightingale offer her services at the hospital ?
4) Who went with her to Scutary ?
5) Give a suitable title for the passage.

ANT AND DOVE STORY

Once an ant fell into a stream. In vain it tried to catch hold of a leaf or twig to save itself. It was carried along the stream. A dove was watching the ant from the branch of a tree. Out of pity it let fall a leaf into the stream. The ant climbed upon the leaf and was saved.
Another day, a hunter took aim at the same dove with his gun. The dove knew nothing about this hunter; but the ant saw him. It knew that the dove was in danger. It quickly came to the hunter and bit his toe. The hunter missed his aim and the dove flew away. That was how the grateful ant did good turn to the kind dove.

QUESTIONS:

1) Why was the ant carried along the stream ?
2) How did the dove rescue the ant ?
3) Why did the hunter miss his aim ?
4) What is the moral conveyed in the story ?
5) Give a suitable title .

REAL HEROES

Most of the people who appear most often in history books are great conquerors. Strangely enough, the people who really helped the civilization forward are often never mentioned at all. We do not know who made the first boat or calculated the length of the year ; but we know our killers and destroyers. We raise statues to them simply because they fought bravely. But even animals fight. So do savages. To fight is not to be civilized. Moreover, there are other ways of settling quarrels among men or nations. So really civilized people have been those who have brought peace and happiness to mankind. They have been prophets, saints, doctors, inventors and discoverers who instead of inflicting pain and hardship upon humanity, have healed their wounds. In stead of killing they have saved human lives. They are really civilized and deserve our admiration and respect.

QUESTIONS:

1) Who are the people that generally appear in history books ?
2) Is fighting a mark of civilization ? Why ?
3) Who are truely civilized ?
4) Why do they deserve our admiration and respect ?
5) Give a suitable title .

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln is one of those great men whose life-story is also the history of the nation to which they belong. The famous phrase " from log cabin to White House " sums up the career of Abraham Lincoln. However, his greatness does not lie in the fulfilment of his personal ambition, but in his work for his country and for humanity. It is to him, as to no other individual, that the United States of America owes its present position as one of the greatest world powers. It was Lincoln who laid the foundation of freedom and unity. And yet after having accomplished all this, he had the humility to say, "I have done nothing to make any human being remember that I have lived."

QUESTIONS:

1) To whom does the USA owe its present position ?
2) Which line in the paragraph speaks of his humility ?
3) Pick out the phrase that tells that from a poor family he became the President of America.
4) In what does the greatness of Lincoln lie ?
5) Give a suitable title.

AIM OF EDUCATION

Some people think that the aim of education is merely to give knowledge. These people want students to read books and do nothing else. Others think that knowledge alone is not enough; only that which enables a man to earn his living can be called education. Still others believe that education should aim solely at making good citizens and good patriots. As a matter of fact education should aim at all these three things together. It should give men knowledge, make themselves sufficient, and able to serve others. Education should not produce citizens who while they love their own freedom take away the freedom of others. It should produce men who love their own country but who do not want to harm other countries.

QUESTIONS :

1) What do some people think to be the aim of education ?
2) What do others think about it ?
3) What is the true aim of education ?
4) What kind of citizens should education produce ?
5) Give a suitable title.

MAHATMA KABIR

Kabir’s teaching was so simple and so good that many persons became his followers. But some people who had evil hearts grew jealous of him. The more famous he baceme the more they hated him. At last these people went to the king and told him that Kabir misled the people against him. The king was full of anger when he heard this, and sent him to the Kazi so that he might try and punish him. Eventually the Kazi ordered Kabir to be burnt to death.
A big fire was prepared outside the city, and nearly all the inhabitants came to see the cruel sight. Kabir’s followers who had gathered there in large numbers, requested him to save his life by asking the king to pardon him. But they did not know how brave he was. Even death could not frighten him. So when the king’s men got ready to throw him into the fire he was seen smiling. Taking him close to the fire they gave such a great push that he fell right into the rising flames. But was he really burnt ? No, not at all. In the midst of the red flames he began to glow like gold. Soon after, the fire cooled down of itself and the saint came out of it smiling. Everybody present felt very happy and showed respect for the saint by touching his feet.

QUESTIONS:

1) Who hated Kabir ?
2) Why was the king angry with Kabir ?
3) What was the result of Kabir’s trial ?
4) Everybody present felt very happy, why ?
5) Give a suitable title.

WHO IS GREAT?

In every country people imagine that they are the best and the cleverest and the others are not so good as they are. The Englishman thinks that he and his country are the best ; the Frenchman is very proud of France and everything French. The Germans and Italians think no less of their countries and many Indians imagine that India is in many ways the greatest country in the world. This is wrong. Everybody wants to think well of himself and his country. But really there is no person, who hasnot got some bad qualities. In the same way there is no country which is not partly good and partly bad. We must take the good wherever we find it and try to remove the bad whatever it may be. We are, of course, most concerned with our own country. Unhappily, it is in a bad way today. Most of our people are poor and unhappy. They have no joy in their lives. We have to find out how we can make them happier. We have to see what is good in our ways and customs and try to keep it,and whatever is bad we have to throw away. If we find anything good in other countries, we should certainly take it.

QUESTIONS:

1) What do people think in every country ?
2) What do many Indians imagine ?
3) What must we do ?
4) What should we throw away ?
5) What should be our attitude towards other countries ?

MEN AND MACHINES

A great defect of our civilization is that it does not know what to do with its knowledge. Science has given us powers fit for the Gods, yet we use them like small children. For example, we do not know how to use our machines. Machines are made to be man’s servants ; yet he has grown so dependent on them that they are becoming his masters. Already most men spend most of their lives looking after and waiting upon machines. And the machines are very stern masters. They must be kept at the right temperature. Otherwise, they refuse to work or burst with rage and blow up. So we have to wait upon them attentively. Already we find it difficult to work or play without machines and a time may come when they will rule us altogether, just as we rule the animals.

QUESTIONS :

1) What is the great defect of our civilization ?
2) How have machines become our masters ?
3) What happens if we do not wait upon the machines carefully ?
4) What could be the result of our dependence on machines ?
5) Give a suitable title .

HELEN KELLER

Helen Keller was aged two when an illness took away her sight and hearing. Since she was deaf she also lost the ability to speak, for we learn to speak by imitating what we hear. So as a child she lived in a dark and silent world. At first it seemed impossible that she would ever understand others or be understood by them. Hers was thus a very lonely world. She was helped by a wonderful teacher called Miss Sullivan. She was blind as child but recovered her sight after an operation. Miss Sullivan volunteered to help Helen and taught her to speak, read and write. Helen, later, went to a university and even gained a degree. She then spent the rest of her life working to help the blind and the deaf.

QUESTIONS:

1) How old was Helen Keller when she lost her sight and hearing ?
2) Why did Helen live in a "dark" and "silent" world ?
3) Who helped Helen in learning ?
4) How did Helen make use of her education ?
5) Give a suitable title.

For more details :

Please do read - "Applied English Course" (10th Edition - 17th Print)

Pub. Navakarnataka Publications, Bangalore. Rs. 165-00