Reading Comprehension Test 46

[passage-header]Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]The history of civilization shows how man always has to choose between making the right and wrong use of the discoveries of science. This has never been more true than in our own age. In a brief period, amazing discoveries have been made and applied to practical purpose. It would be ungrateful not to recognize how immense the boons, which science has given to mankind, are. It has brought within the reach of multitudes benefits and advantages which only a short time ago were the privilege of the few. It has shown how malnutrition, hunger, and disease can be overcome. It has not only lengthened life but it has deepened its quality. Fields of knowledge, experience and recreation open in the past to only a few, have now been thrown open to millions. Through the work of science, the ordinary man today has been given the opportunity of a longer and fuller life than that which was possible for his grandparents.

[passage-header]Read the passage and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]

[passage-header]Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]With human beings, the world over, ensnared in the performance of mechanical tasks and the pursuit of equally mechanical distractions, the time is not distant when nothing but the most abominable entertainments will succeed in steering them. If it so happens, the present civilization will emerge as a mere imitation of the Romans in which the Romans desired more gladiators, tightrope walking elephants, and fantastically rare animals to be slaughtered. This is one danger which is likely to cut at the roots of modern civilization because it threatens the existence of mental activities. I would prefer to be bored by an eight hour job in an office or writing streams of words of journalism rather than be amused by the monotony of modern pleasures. It is the lack of participation which is the most damaging aspect of modern pleasures. This organized distraction combines within itself the performance of movies, gramophones, radios, and the press which go a long way in killing the residue of initiative or sense of participation. Even in the case of newspapers, no mental effort is required on the part of the readers as the contents are presented in such a cut and dried manner that one need not undergo the fatigue of a single thought. Consequently, for years together, men continue scanning newspapers and magazines by merely moving their eyes. If idealists fail to stem the root, in future, pleasures will take on incredibly monstrous shapes.

Read the passage and answer the question that follows:
Every genius that exists in the world achieves greatness through the capacity of taking the trouble to get to where they want. All great men of the world who have achieved impossible things in their lifetime have undergone hardships, sacrifices, trials, and tribulations. There is no easy victory over failure. No difficult achievement is smooth and easy. The history of great men reminds us that with strong determination, man can achieve anything he sets his mind on, however impossible it may seem. A man with determination and iron can defeat all hurdles in the way of his mission. Even the most intelligent people suffer in life if they cannot cope with their circumstances and labor hard to achieve the goal of their life. A genius who is fired with zeal and determination to achieve his ideal comes to possess the necessary capacity to bear the hardships, cross the hurdles, and achieve the final victory. Genius and hard work go together to bring the desired results. The stage of greatness comes after many stages of frustration and disappointment. The weaker man gives way to those frustrations but the genius perseveres and holds on to their mission until they achieve the object of their life.

[passage-header]Read the following passage and answer the question that follows. [/passage-header]Biologists in New Zealand are baffled by the sudden death of a large number of the world's rarest species of penguins. At least a third of the 400 yellow-eyed penguins that live on the Otago Peninsula, in New Zealand's South Island, have died since December. The loss represents around 15 per cent of all yellow-eyed penguins and threatens to extinguish the mainland population. The disappearance of this group of penguins is particularly serious for the species because the birds are genetically distinct from those on the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island. Their disappearance would narrow the species' gene pool considerably.
The first penguins died in December and by February the population had crashed. Post-mortem examinations showed no sign of poisoning by heavy metals or pesticides, nor was there any sign of a virus. Whatever killed the birds acted very quickly in the eight hours they were at sea feeding on the day they died and most of the corpses recovered were near their home beaches. "Whatever it is, seems to make them sick, then head for home and collapse on the beach," said one of the scientists.
Suggestions of a cause range from a change in food supply caused by climatic change, to poisoning by a biological toxin-perhaps from an algal bloom. The sea has been particularly warm this summer, but temperature alone would not kill the penguins; nor had the unusual climatic conditions interfered with the birds' feeding. None of the dead birds showed any signs of disease.

Read the passage and answer the question that follows:
Every genius that exists in the world achieves greatness through the capacity of taking the trouble to get to where they want. All great men of the world who have achieved impossible things in their lifetime have undergone hardships, sacrifices, trials, and tribulations. There is no easy victory over failure. No difficult achievement is smooth and easy. The history of great men reminds us that with strong determination, man can achieve anything he sets his mind on, however impossible it may seem. A man with determination and iron can defeat all hurdles in the way of his mission. Even the most intelligent people suffer in life if they cannot cope with their circumstances and labor hard to achieve the goal of their life. A genius who is fired with zeal and determination to achieve his ideal comes to possess the necessary capacity to bear the hardships, cross the hurdles, and achieve the final victory. Genius and hard work go together to bring the desired results. The stage of greatness comes after many stages of frustration and disappointment. The weaker man gives way to those frustrations but the genius perseveres and holds on to their mission until they achieve the object of their life.

[passage-header]Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]Courage is not only the basis of all virtue; it is its expression. Faith, hope, charity and all other virtues only come into existence once courage is used to exercise them. There are roughly two types of courage. The first, an emotional state which urges a man to risk injury or death, is physical courage. The second, a more reasoning attitude which enables him to take coolly his career, happiness, his whole future, or his judgment of what he thinks to be right or worthwhile, is moral courage. I have known many men who had marked physical courage but lacked moral courage. Some of them were in high places, but they failed to be great in themselves because they lacked moral courage. On the other hand, I have seen men who undoubtedly possessed moral courage, but were very cautious about taking physical risks. But I have never met a man with moral courage who couldn't display physical courage when it was really necessary to face a situation boldly. 

[passage-header]Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]With human beings, the world over, ensnared in the performance of mechanical tasks and the pursuit of equally mechanical distractions, the time is not distant when nothing but the most abominable entertainments will succeed in steering them. If it so happens, the present civilization will emerge as a mere imitation of the Romans in which the Romans desired more gladiators, tightrope walking elephants, and fantastically rare animals to be slaughtered. This is one danger which is likely to cut at the roots of modern civilization because it threatens the existence of mental activities. I would prefer to be bored by an eight hour job in an office or writing streams of words of journalism rather than be amused by the monotony of modern pleasures. It is the lack of participation which is the most damaging aspect of modern pleasures. This organized distraction combines within itself the performance of movies, gramophones, radios, and the press which go a long way in killing the residue of initiative or sense of participation. Even in the case of newspapers, no mental effort is required on the part of the readers as the contents are presented in such a cut and dried manner that one need not undergo the fatigue of a single thought. Consequently, for years together, men continue scanning newspapers and magazines by merely moving their eyes. If idealists fail to stem the root, in future, pleasures will take on incredibly monstrous shapes.

[passage-header]Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]It is said that wars are fought for the sake of peace. Many politicians justify wars as being the means of bringing about stability in the international relations. So far as the aim of those who are always busy in society is concerned, their motive is not always to achieve freedom from work. Their ultimate purpose is not to be idle. To be busy is a mode of life or habit. Those who are busy in society, say, businessmen, or people in authority, politicians or statesmen, officials or employees, are all part of the continuous machine which keeps the society going. People are busy so that different activities of a society are carried out and the wherewithals which mankind badly needs are provided. No society, however prosperous and endowed with bounties of nature, can afford to have the objective of being idle in the long run. No doubt, advanced countries ensure maximum facilities of living and amenities of work for their workmen; they even fix their working hours so that after their busy day's life they can have some leisure at their disposal for self-development or peace of mind. Yet, with the passage of time a busy society has the tendency to become busier. Even with the best computers and automation at the disposal of the modern technocrats manpower continues to remain busy, as one phase of achievement leads automatically to the second phase of work. War may have the intention of peace but business is unending so long as a society has the objective of progress and does not become stationary, stagnant or decadent.

[passage-header]Read the following passage and answer the question that follows. [/passage-header]Biologists in New Zealand are baffled by the sudden death of a large number of the world's rarest species of penguins. At least a third of the 400 yellow-eyed penguins that live on the Otago Peninsula, in New Zealand's South Island, have died since December. The loss represents around 15 per cent of all yellow-eyed penguins and threatens to extinguish the mainland population. The disappearance of this group of penguins is particularly serious for the species because the birds are genetically distinct from those on the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island. Their disappearance would narrow the species' gene pool considerably.
The first penguins died in December and by February the population had crashed. Post-mortem examinations showed no sign of poisoning by heavy metals or pesticides, nor was there any sign of a virus. Whatever killed the birds acted very quickly in the eight hours they were at sea feeding on the day they died and most of the corpses recovered were near their home beaches. "Whatever it is, seems to make them sick, then head for home and collapse on the beach," said one of the scientists.
Suggestions of a cause range from a change in food supply caused by climatic change, to poisoning by a biological toxin-perhaps from an algal bloom. The sea has been particularly warm this summer, but temperature alone would not kill the penguins; nor had the unusual climatic conditions interfered with the birds' feeding. None of the dead birds showed any signs of disease.