Short passages

NUST NET (Engineering) · English · Reading comprehension. A short explanation of the idea, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid, a worked example and practice questions with answers.

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The idea

A short passage is followed by questions on its main idea or purpose, on what can be inferred, on the author's tone, or on the meaning of a word. Every correct answer can be proved from the passage. Your own knowledge of the subject, however good, is not evidence.

Read the passage once with two questions in mind: what is the topic, and what is the author saying about it? Notice turning words such as but, yet and however, because the author's real point usually follows them.

For each question, go back and find the line that supports your answer. Wrong options tend to be too narrow, too broad, too strong, or true in life but not stated in the passage.

Rules to remember

Main idea: it must cover the whole passage. Reject an option about one detail (too narrow) or one that goes beyond the passage (too broad).
Purpose: match the verb to what the author does: explain, describe, argue, warn, compare, or correct a common belief.
After 'but', 'yet', 'however' or 'still' comes the author's own view; the first and last sentences often state the main point.
Inference: a small, safe step that must be true if the passage is true. If you cannot point to the supporting line, it is a guess.
Be wary of options with 'always', 'never', 'all', 'only' or 'proves' unless the passage is just as strong.
Tone: read the judging words (adjectives, adverbs, verbs of praise or blame). Common answers: admiring, critical, cautious, concerned, objective.
Word in the passage: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the meaning there.

Common mistake

Students choose an option because it is a true fact they know, or because it repeats words from the passage, although it does not answer the question. Point to the line that proves your answer before you mark it.

Worked example

Many people think of deserts as lifeless. The Thar tells a different story. After the brief summer rains, grasses cover the dunes within days, and herders bring their animals to graze. Seeds that have waited in the sand for years sprout at once. The desert is not dead; it is waiting.

The main purpose of the passage is to
A. describe how herders live in the Thar
B. correct the belief that deserts are lifeless
C. explain why so little rain falls in the Thar
D. argue that deserts hold more life than forests

The passage opens with a common belief ('deserts as lifeless') and turns at once: 'The Thar tells a different story'.
The grasses, the grazing animals and the sprouting seeds are all evidence against that belief, and the last sentence states the point: 'The desert is not dead'.
A is too narrow (herders are one detail). C is not discussed. D is too strong: forests are never mentioned.
Only B covers the whole passage and matches what the author does.

Answer: B. correct the belief that deserts are lifeless

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