Important Tips for Reading Comprehension

Read LESSON 1 : How to Get Good Marks in Reading Comprehension Here

Friends, in our last post we've discussed some basic techniques on how to get good marks in Reading Comprehension section of bank and other competitive exams. (you can read that post here). In this post we shall discuss some important points you should keep in mind while dealing with Reading Comprehension problems. 

What to read first? The given Passage or Questions?

There are people belonging to both schools of thought. But it is preferable to read the passage first to get a grasp of the broad ideas the author is trying to communicate and then take up the questions one by one. In the process of going through the passage initially, underline key words and phrases as well as some important points in the passage (for online exam you can’t mark anything so better keep important words in your mind instead of writing anywhere). Then, when you go through each question, get back to the relevant portion of the passage, read it more thoroughly this time and then answer the question.

As mentioned in our previous post, the following are the major categories of questions that are asked :

1. Main idea of the passage / title for the passage
2. Specific details basically reproducing what is given in the passage
3. Drawing inferences / implications
4. Determining the meaning of words / phrases as used in the passage or by the author
5. Application of the ideas expressed in the passage to other situations

Where you have to choose a title for the passage or identify the main them of the passage, check the opening and closing sentences of each paragraph particularly the opening sentence of the first paragraph and the last sentence of the last paragraph. At the same time, be wary about too specific or too broad choices in the multiple choices given. 

We are planning to give you a number of practice tests on Reading Comprehension as this is one of the crucial area of Competitive Exams. We hope these tests may enable you to get sufficient practice in this important area. Please remember that in this area, unlike in other areas like Maths or Reasoning where you will be able to assess for yourself how much of new knowledge you have added on and how much of improvement in speed you have achieved, there will not be such clear indicators. However, performance in reading comprehension will improve only with practice and that requires a lot of effort and determination on your part.

In addition to the online tests you take from this blog, you will have to put in at least 45 minutes of reading practice per day to improve your reading speed and comprehension. You need to take up serious reading material for practice - News Papers Editorials, editorials in general magazines like India Today or Business Magazines like Business India or other articles in such magazines, general books on a wide variety of subjects like Psychology, Sociology, Technology, etc. For each article or part of a book that you are reading , go through the process of reading, writing down from memory a few important points from what you have just read and then checking back with the text whether any important points got left out. This exercise done regularly over a period of time will certainly help you  improve your reading speed as well as your ability to understand  and retain what you read. But, as already mentioned, only regular practice can help you in this regard. All The Best...

That's all for now friends. In our next post we shall discuss some more practical techniques to improve your reading speed. Happy reading :)

09:47 - By Unknown 0

 How to Get Good Marks in Reading Comprehension ?

Friends, Now a days, almost every competitive exam asking reading comprehension questions. In these type of questions, they will give you a passage / comprehension and will ask you to read that and answer the questions followed by that passage. Actually this Reading Comprehension section is designed to test the ability of the student to read a passage and understand its contents and his ability to draw inferences on the basis of what is read. In simple words, the student's ability to grasp the contents of the passage in a relatively short span of time is what is being tested.

The Student is expected to read the given passage, understand its contents well and answer the questions given at the end of the passage. All this to be completed in the limited time that is given.

There are two important skills you should develop to do well in reading comprehension. Those are,

1. Reading Rate
2. Understanding of the Passage

Lets have a look at each of them individually to get a clear understanding, before we get into the techniques of attempting Reading Comprehension.

The reading skill cant be evaluated on a number of words per minute scale, but reading rate can definitely be measured. A person who can read faster can answer more number of questions in the given time than a person with slower reading speed, Other things remaining the same. It is this reading rate or your speed of reading that you have to aim at improving. There is no overnight solution to this. Constant and extensive reading will improve your reading rate. Check your reading speed today (take any passage, count the number of words, clock the time taken by you to read it and calculate the speed in words per minute) and keep a record of it. Then, keep checking your speed regularly and tabulate the same. Check whether your speed has increased over time with practice. However, do not become complacent if your speed has increased.

This brings us to the second point.. i.e., understanding of the passage. A person may be able to read the passage much faster than others but if he is not able to answer the questions pertaining to the passage, then the speed is of no use at all. it is very essential to grasp the meaning of the passage while reading. While you are reading, you should constantly think, evaluate, reason out, judge and co relate with what has already been read. A good vocabulary would enable you understand the nuances and grasp the meaning of various issues discussed in the passage. While an attempt can be made at pointing out various categories of quesiotns that may be asked and give a variety of tips, you will basically have to draw on the resources buitl by wide and extensive reading and rely on your own vocabulary. No training will possible regarding understanding and analysing the problem. However, we are going to take you through an extensive set of tests followed by this article to ensure that you get thorough practice in Comprehension Reading.

In addition to good vocabulary, also needed is the ability to zero in on the central theme of the passage. This can be developed with extensive reading practice as well as proper concentration at the time of reading the passage. You should also consciously develop the habit of correlating each new sentence read with the part of the passage already read and mentally form a linkage of all ideas expressed in the passage while simultaneously weeding out redundant statements.

The passage given in competitive exams (especially for bank exams) do not conform to any standards as regards the subject matter or the length of the passge. While the subjects covered can be as wide ranging as Economy, Sciences (like Botony, Zoology, Chemistry, Physics, Astornomy), Social Sciences (like Pshycology, History, Politics, Sociology), Humanities (like Literature, Art, Music) or Current Topics (Social, Political, Economical), the student is not expected to have any prior knowledge of the topics given.

The passages will sometimes be very complex in nature while others will be simple in nature and easy to understand.

The questions themselves can pertain either to parts directly contained in the passage or related to implications and inferences. Sometimes you may be asked to comment on the tone of the passage or to choose a title for the passage or to identify the main idea in the passage but you are hardly ever asked for your opinion on the passage.

Read LESSON 2 : Important tips for Reading Comprehension here

09:46 - By Unknown 0

R. S. Aggrawal's Objective English

 R. S. Aggrawal's Objective English - Pdf

Friends, Today we are giving you the pdf file of R. S. Aggrawal's Objective General English. This book will be helpful for you in the English section of all the competitive Exams. As friends, as we already said, NOTHING will happen with just downloading and saving this file into your systems. Read....... and Practice daily. Here is the Download Link. All The Best. You can get more downloads Here. Like our Facebook Page for more updates. Happy Reading :)

09:42 - By Unknown 0

One Word Substitution in English

 One Word Substitution in English - Excercise 1

Friends, One Word Substitute / Substitution is another important area in English Section. Now a days in almost all competitive exams they are asking questions from this area. In these type questions they will give you a sentence with four / five options below it. You just have to pick a suitable word which gives the exact meaning / idea as the given sentence (Ex : An account of somebody's life written by another person - Biography). Here are some practice exercises of One word substitutions. Hope these will help you in your preparation. Happy reading :)

1.      One who does a thing for pleasure and not as profession

a.      Amateur

b.      Philanderer

c.       Empirical

d.      Imposter

2.      Government by the priests or a government which has its state religion

a.       Thearach

b.      Aristocracy

c.       Oligarchy

d.      Theocracy 

3.      A hater of learning and knowledge

a.       Misogynist

b.      Misologist

c.       Mascochist

d.      Samaritan

4.      A man with abnormal habits

a.      Eccentric

b.      Self centred

c.       Supercilious

d.      Arrogant

5.      Animals that eat flesh

a.       Herbivorous

b.      Carnivorous

c.       Graminivorous

d.      Vegetarian

6.      The act of violating the sancity of the church

a.       Camouflage

b.      Descreation

c.       Sacrilege

d.      Heresy

7.      He says he can see things that you cant

a.       Martiner

b.      Adonis

c.       Pedant

d.      Clairvoyant

8.      An animal that is equally at home on land and in water

a.       Cannibal

b.      Domestic

c.       Amphibious

d.      Abstemious

 

9.      A person who does not believe in the existence of god

a.       Theist

b.      Atheist

c.       Agnostic

d.      Ascetic

10.  A tank where fish or water plants are kept

a.       Nursery

b.      Aviary

c.       Aquarium

d.      Apiary

11.  A general pardon granted by the government to political offenders

a.      Amnesty

b.      Alimony

c.       Armistice

d.      Diplomacy

12.  Last part of speech

a.       Epilogue

b.      Conclusion

c.       Peroration

d.      Permutation

13.  A person who readily believes others

a.       Creditable

b.      Credible

c.       Credulous

d.      Sensitive

14.  Process of thought

a.       Machination

b.      Insinuation

c.       Cerebration

d.      Commiseration

15.  The passage of soul after death from one body to another

a.       Post diedem

b.      Transmigration

c.       Transmutations

d.      Metamorphosis

That's all for now friends. Read more Easy English Tips here

09:41 - By Unknown 0

 Used to, be Used to, get Used to

Today we shall discuss about the usage of Used to, be Used to and Get Used to. 

By using Used to you can express :

• A particular thing always happened or was true in the past.
• But it no longer happens or is no longer true now:

Have a look at some examples of the usage of Used to : 

• Shivani  used to live in Bangalore.
• She used to dance every evening, but since she had that terrible lung disorder she doesn't dance  anymore.
• Why don't you come and see me like you used to?

Now lets see the forms of used to : 

There are three forms for Used to. They are

• Interrogative form : 
• Did you use to dance regularly ?
• Affirmative form :
• Yes, I used to go jogging nearly every day.
• Negative  form :
• No, I didn't use to exercise on a regular basis.

The usage of Used to, be used to, get used to :

• Used to tells us that a particular thing always happened or was true in the past (see the above examples)
• Be used to is used to say that something is normal, not unusual.
• Examples :
• I'm used to living alone.
• Don't worry, Mohan is used to driving for long hours. He has worked as a professional driver for 20 years. 
• Get used tells us that something is in the process of becoming normal.
• Examples :
• He doesn't like that small town, but he'll get used to it.
• She found the heels too high, but she got used to them.
• Since the divorce, she has become very sad. But I think she'll get used to her new life.      
• I got used to living in Canada in spite of the cold weather.
• Get used to and be used to are followed by either a noun or a gerund. Have a look at the following table. 

Get used to + noun	Get used to + gerund (verb+ing)
I got used to the noise I'm used to the hot weather	I got used to waking up early I'm used to working late at night

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09:38 - By Unknown 0

 I wish / if Only

In this post we shall discuss about the usage of I wish / If Only in sentences. There are three types of  I wish / if only  sentences:

1.      Wish, wanting change for the present or future with the simple past.

2.      Regret with the past perfect.

3.      Complaints with would + verb.

To express a wish :

The form of the sentence :

If only / I wish + simple past

Ex :

If only I knew how to speak Spanish. (I don’t know how to speak Spanish and I would like to learn how to speak)

Usage :

·         To express a wish in the present or in the future.

·         The simple past here is an unreal past.

·         When you use the verb to be the form is “were”.

Example:

I wish I were a millionaire!

To express regret :

The form of the sentence :

If only / I wish + past perfect

Ex :

If only I had woken up early. (I didn’t wake up early and I missed the train.)

Usage :

·         To express a regret.

·         The action is past.

Complaining :

The form of the sentence :

I wish / if only  + would  +  verb

Ex :

I wish you wouldn't arrive so late all the time (I'm annoyed because you always come late and I want you to arrive on time)

Usage :

·         To complain about a behavior that you disapprove.

·         Expressing impatience, annoyance or dissatisfaction with a present action.

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09:36 - By Unknown 0

 Much, Many and A Lot

In today's post we shall discuss about the usage of Much, Many and A Lot. These three indicate a large quantity of something, for example "I have a lot of friends " means I have a large quantity of friends. These three are (much, many and a lot) are quantifiers. Now lets see some examples to demonstrate the usage of Much, Many and A Lot.

• How much money have you got?
• I haven't got much money.
• I have got a lot.
• I have got a lot of money.
• How many students are in the classroom?
• There aren't many.
• There are a lot.
• There are a lot of/lots of students.

In the interrogative forms we use :

• Much with uncountable nouns. (money, bread, water...)

• Ex :
• How much money / bread / water...is there? 
• Many with countable nouns. (students, desks, windows...)
• Ex :
• How many students / teachers / desks... are there?

In the negative forms we use :

• Much with uncountable nouns. (money, bread, water...)
• Ex :
• I haven't got much money/bread/water...
• Many with countable nouns. (students, desks, windows...)
• Ex :
• There aren't many students / teachers / desks...

In the affirmative forms we use :

• A lot, A lot of, lots of with countable and uncountable nouns.
• Ex :
• "How many students are there in the classroom?" 
• "There are a lot."
• "How many students are there in the classroom?"
• "There are a lot of / lots of students"..

In formal written English :

• It is also possible (and preferable) to use many and much rather than a lot of, lots of and a lot in formal written English. 
• Ex :
• There are many students. 
• Much time was spent on studying.

Remember friends, if you're speaking or writing to friends (informal), use a lot, a lot of, lots of. But if you want to be more formal, perhaps it is preferable to use much and many.

Some more points to Remember :

• In affirmative sentences with so, as or too, we also use much / many.
• Ex :
• "Ramani has so many friends."
• "She has as many friends as Mohana."
• "Mohan has too much money."

Now lets see the detailed view of the points mentioned above :

Interrogative	Negative	Affirmative
How many books are there?	There aren'tmany.	There are a lot.
		There are a lot of books.
		There are lots of books.
		There are many books (formal)
How much money have you got?	I haven't gotmuch.	I've got a lot.
		I've got a lot of money.
		I've got lots of money.
		I have got much money (formal)

Thats all for now Friends . Hope you liked this post... You can Read more Here >>

09:34 - By Unknown 0