Reading Comprehension Test 54

[passage-header]Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes[/passage-header]What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--
And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

[passage-header]Snow flakes. by Emily Dickinson[/passage-header]Snow flakes.

I counted till they danced so
Their slippers leaped the town,
And then I took a pencil
To note the rebels down.
And then they grew so jolly
I did resign the prig,
And ten of my once stately toes
Are marshalled for a jig!

[passage-header]The Man He Killed by Thomas Hardy[/passage-header]Had he and I but met 
By some old ancient inn, 
We should have set us down to wet 
Right many a nipperkin! 

But ranged as infantry, 
And staring face to face, 
I shot at him as he at me, 
And killed him in his place. 

I shot him dead because-- 
Because he was my foe, 
Just so: my foe of course he was; 
That's clear enough; although 

He thought he'd 'list, perhaps, 
Off-hand like--just as I-- 
Was out of work--had sold his traps-- 
No other reason why. 

Yes; quaint and curious war is! 
You shoot a fellow down 
You'd treat, if met where any bar is, 
Or help to half a crown.

[passage-header]Touched by An Angel by Maya Angelou[/passage-header]We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

Sound intensity is scientifically measured in decibles. Hearing loss can begin when the noise level goes above 100 decibels, A sound above 85 dbs damages human ears. Some people may experience pain at a lower level too.

Read the following short passage and answer the question.
In a free country, the man who reaches the position of leader is usually one of outstanding character and ability. Moreover, it is usually possible to foresee that he will reach such a position, since early in life one can see his qualities of character. But this is not always true in the case of a dictator; often he reaches his position of power through chance, very often through the unhappy state of his country. It is possible that Hitler would never have become the leader of Germany if that country had not been driven to despair. 

[passage-header]Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]Getting a good night's sleep can help you cope with stress more effectively. Insomniacs have higher concentration of stress hormones than others. Experts believe that sleep, especially deep sleep, enables our nervous system to function well. Without it we lose our ability to concentrate, remember or analyse. Some experts speculate that during deep sleep, cells manufacture more proteins, which are essential for cell growth and repair of damage from things like stress and ultraviolet rays.
Scientists believe that activity in the area of the brain that controls emotions and social interactions lessens during sleep and that sleep may help people be emotionally and socially adept when awake. Sleep may also help our brain to store a newly learned activity in its memory bank. In a study in Canada, students deprived of sleep after learning a complex logic game showed a 30 percent learning deficit when tested a week later compared to students not deprived of sleep.
So whatever works to help you sleep well, whether it's regular exercise earlier in the day, weekly massages, yoga, meditation or a lavender-scented bath, make time for it today.

[passage-header]Read the poem given below and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]The rain had fallen, the poet arose,
He passed by the town and out of the street:
A light wind blew from the gates of the sun,
And waves of shadow went over that wheat;
And he sat him down in a lonely place
And chanted a melody loud and sweet
That made the wild swan pause in her cloud,
And the lark drop down at his feet.
The swallow stop as he hunted the fly,
The snake slipt under a spray,
The wild hawk stood with the swan on his beak,
And stared with his foot on the prey,
And the nightingale thought,
"I have sung many songs",
But never a one so gay,
For he sings of what the world will be
When the year have died away.

[passage-header]Read the following telephonic conversation and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]Nishu: Hello!
Ashu: Hello! Can I speak to Ravi?
Nishu: I am his sister Nishu on the line. Ravi is out at the moment.
Ashu: I am Ashu, Ravi's friend. Will you please convey my message to Ravi?
Nishu: Yes, of course. I will gladly do that.
Ashu: Tell him that Mr. Spencer, our sports teacher, is taking us out for a picnic tomorrow. So, we have to go to school without the school bag. But, do not forget to bring a lunch box and a water bottle.
Nishu: Oh! That's great! I will definitely inform him about this picnic.

[passage-header]Read the passage given and answer the question that follows.[/passage-header]The Cricket and the Ants:
It was summer and the cricket sat on an ear of wheat happily singing and enjoying the sun. He felt extremely sorry for the ants, who worked ceaselessly looking for grains of wheat to take back to their store.
Poor things, they really did not know-how to enjoy life.
But soon the winter came and the thoughtless cricket had no food at all to eat.
He would surely have died of hunger if it had not been for the generous ants who had given him some of their grain.
"Think of keeping something for the rainy days."