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Free Passage Reading MCQs with Answers

413 Passage Reading MCQs from English, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.

Passage reading requires identifying the central idea, supporting facts, author's purpose, tone, sequence and conclusions supported by the text. Questions may also test inference, vocabulary in context, reference words and the difference between information stated directly and meaning implied by the passage.

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413 questions · page 1 of 21

1. Read the passage: "Antibiotic resistance grows when antibiotics are prescribed for viral infections, which they cannot cure. Each unnecessary course kills sensitive bacteria and leaves resistant ones to multiply." The main idea is that

  • A. antibiotics are dangerous drugs
  • B. unnecessary prescribing selects for resistant bacteria
  • C. viral infections are more serious than bacterial ones
  • D. antibiotics should never be prescribed

Explanation: The passage explains a mechanism: pointless courses remove the sensitive bacteria and leave the resistant ones with no competition.

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Correct answer: unnecessary prescribing selects for resistant bacteria

2. Read the passage: "Antibiotic resistance grows when antibiotics are prescribed for viral infections, which they cannot cure." It can be inferred that

Moderate
  • A. viruses are unaffected by antibiotics
  • B. all bacteria are now resistant
  • C. doctors never prescribe correctly
  • D. antibiotics cure most viral illnesses

Explanation: The clause which they cannot cure states directly that antibiotics do not work against viruses, so the inference is close to the text.

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Correct answer: viruses are unaffected by antibiotics

3. Read the passage: "Although vaccination campaigns have reduced measles worldwide, outbreaks still occur where coverage falls below the level needed for herd immunity." The tone of the passage is best described as

Fairly easy
  • A. informative
  • B. sarcastic
  • C. humorous
  • D. hostile

Explanation: The passage states facts and a condition without emotive language or judgement, which is the mark of an informative or expository tone.

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Correct answer: informative

4. But in the main, I feel like a brown bag of miscellany propped against a wall. Against a wall in company with other bags, white, red, and yellow. Pour out the contents, and there is discovered a jumble of small things: priceless lengths of string, a key to a door long since crumbled away, a rusty knife-blade, old shoes saved for a road that never was and never will be a nail bent under the weight of things too heavy for any nail, a dried flower or two still a little fragrant. In your hand is the brown bag. On the ground before you is the jumble it held-so much like the jumble in the bags, could they be emptied, that all might be dumped in a single heap and the bags refilled without altering the content of any greatly. A bit of colored glass more or less would not matter. Perhaps that is how the Great Stuffer of Bags filled them in the first place-who knows?The primary purpose of the passage is to:

  • A. Describe the contents of bags
  • B. Suggest people are not predisposed to prejudice
  • C. Recommend all people share wealth with others
  • D. Purport that all people have some value

Explanation: The passage uses the metaphor of bags to show that everyone has a mix of experiences and memories, suggesting that all people have…

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Correct answer: Purport that all people have some value

5. It seemed to me, as I kept remembering all this, that those times and those summers had been infinitely precious and worth saving. There had been jollity and peace and goodness. The arriving at the beginning of August) had been so big a business in itself; at the railway station the farm wagon drawn up, the first smell of the pine-laden air, the first glimpse of the smiling farmer, and the great importance of the trunks and your father's enormous authority in such matters, and the feel of the wagon under you for the long ten- mile haul, and at the top of the last long catching the first view of the lake after eleven months not seeing this cherished body of water. The shouts and cries of the other campers when they saw you, and the trunks to be unpacked, to give up their rich burden. (Arriving was less exciting nowadays when you sneaked up in your car and parked it under a tree near the damp and took out the bags and in five minutes it was all over, no fuss, no loud wonderful fuss about trunks.)In the passage, the author emphasizes which aspect of the childhood memory?

  • A. The anticipation
  • B. The aromas
  • C. Enjoying friends
  • D. The arrival

Explanation: The arrival is the central focus, with detailed descriptions of the journey, the excitement, and the contrast with present-day arrivals.

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Correct answer: The arrival

6. I fretted the other night at the hotel at the stranger who broke into my chamber after midnight, claiming to share it. But after his lamp had smoked the chamber full and I had turned round to the wall in despair, the man blew out his lamp, knelt down at his bedside, and made in low whisper a long earnest prayer. Then was the relation entirely changed between us. I fretted no more, but respected and liked him. The probable purpose of the author using the phrase, "lamp had smoked the chamber full" is to:

  • A. Establish a period of time
  • B. Show a low grade fuel was used
  • C. Establish the faultiness of the lamp
  • D. Indicate the lamp was turned up too high

Explanation: The phrase highlights the lamp's malfunction or inefficiency by describing how it filled the room with smoke, suggesting it was faulty.

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Correct answer: Establish the faultiness of the lamp

7. I fretted the other night at the hotel at the stranger who broke into my chamber after midnight, claiming to share it. But after his lamp had smoked the chamber full and I had turned round to the wall in despair, the man blew out his lamp, knelt down at his bedside, and made in low whisper a long earnest prayer. Then was the relation entirely changed between us. I fretted no more, but respected and liked him. What can the reader infer about the speaker based on the passage?

  • A. He is a brave man
  • B. He is used to sharing his room with strangers
  • C. He easily overcomes fear
  • D. He is a religious man

Explanation: The speaker's ability to shift from discomfort to respect and liking after witnessing the prayer indicates a capacity to overcome his…

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Correct answer: He easily overcomes fear

8. Read the passage and answer the question:Comprehension of medical books is considered as one of the most difficult processes among understanding technical terms of diversified fields. Many studies have considered reading as a guessing activity; which means regardless of the student's level, the text will frequently contain numerous difficult words. The ability to guess and infer the meanings of unknown terminology might be viewed as a skill that should be developed.All is true except:

  • A. Acquiring technical jargon is difficult in technical professions, such as medical
  • B. The only reading approach used by medical students is inferring the meaning of challenging words
  • C. The technical terminology makes comprehension of medical text challenging
  • D. None of the above

Explanation: The passage does not suggest that guessing difficult terminologies is the ONLY reading approach.It is just a consideration and the writer…

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Correct answer: The only reading approach used by medical students is inferring the meaning of challenging words

9. Choose the word most similar in meaning to the capitalized one:DISRUPTION:

  • A. Comfort
  • B. Luxury
  • C. Trouble
  • D. Freedom
  • E. Calm

Explanation: Disruption means "any/ disturbance or problem that interrupts an event, activity or a process." Basically, all the other words don't have…

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Correct answer: Trouble

10. Choose the word most similar in meaning to the capitalized one:MEDITATIVE:

  • A. Selfish
  • B. Thoughtful
  • C. Heedless
  • D. Opinion
  • E. Ordinary

Explanation: Meditative implies something to someone who is very cognitive(thinks a lot). Most similar to this word will be "thoughtful".

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Correct answer: Thoughtful

11. Select the word or phrase which is closest in meaning to the underlined words.Due to his continuous mischievous activities, he has become a rogue person.

  • A. Thief
  • B. Honest
  • C. Dishonest
  • D. Sharp

Explanation: Rogue is a person who is dishonest and unreliable. Thief is a person who steals from other people.

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Correct answer: Dishonest

12. Choose the word nearly opposite in meaning to the given word:ANXIETY:

  • A. Problem
  • B. Worry
  • C. Relaxed
  • D. Nervous

Explanation: Anxiety refers to being worried and nervous about something. Relaxed will be the best word here as it means to be calm about something.

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Correct answer: Relaxed

13. Select the nearest correct meaning of the given word: GAUDY

  • A. Bawdy
  • B. Haughty
  • C. Sober
  • D. Garish

Explanation: Gaudy means to show off. Garish means obtrusively bright and showy; lurid.

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Correct answer: Garish

14. Select the nearest correct meaning of the given word:CHURN:

  • A. Freeze
  • B. Gum
  • C. Overcast
  • D. Froth

Explanation: Churn refers to mixing something and turning it into liquid or semi-solid form.

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Correct answer: Froth

15. The word opposite in the meaning to path is:

  • A. Blockage
  • B. Aisle
  • C. Lane
  • D. Accidental

Explanation: Path means a track laid down for walking. Blockage means an obstruction that hinders motion.

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Correct answer: Blockage

16. Synonym of Rookie will be:

  • A. An old man
  • B. A new recruit
  • C. A fighter
  • D. A wrestler

Explanation: The correct answer for a synonym of "rookie" is "a new recruit."Explanation of options:An old man: This option does not represent a…

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Correct answer: A new recruit

17. The word closest in meaning to bewilderment is:

  • A. Surety
  • B. Bedazzled
  • C. Confident
  • D. Epiphany

Explanation: Surety: Surety refers to a state of confidence or certainty about something. It implies a sense of assurance or guarantee.

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Correct answer: Bedazzled

18. Choose the word most similar In meaning to the capitalized one:INEVITABLE:

  • A. Doubtful
  • B. Deny
  • C. Unexpected
  • D. Certain
  • E. Unusual

Explanation: Inevitable means something which is bound to happen or is very certain, undoubtful, and clear.

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Correct answer: Certain

19. Choose the lettered word or phrase that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the word in capital letters:ERADICATION:

  • A. Suppression
  • B. Termination
  • C. Control
  • D. Establish
  • E. Extinction

Explanation: To establish something means to begin it or bring it about, i.e. the opposite of eradication which means to destroy something.

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Correct answer: Establish

20. Choose the lettered word or phrase that is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to the word in capital letters:INTERRUPTION:

  • A. Break
  • B. Continuity
  • C. Injury
  • D. Difference
  • E. Crack

Explanation: "Interruption" means something which is not continuous, does not have pause or breakage.

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Correct answer: Continuity
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