MDCAT English chapter 4: English · Reading MCQs with answers
By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026
22 exam-style questions on English · Reading, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.
Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.
1. Dr Saleem told the class that the experiment had been repeated in three different laboratories. "Only then," he said, "did we feel ready to publish the results."
What can be inferred about Dr Saleem's view?
A
He distrusts other laboratories.
B
He thinks one experiment is always enough.
C
He values results that can be repeated before publishing them.
D
He had difficulty finding a laboratory.
Show answer
Answer: C. "Only then" shows he waited until the result had been repeated elsewhere, so he values repeatable results. Using other laboratories shows trust in them, not distrust.
2. In a survey, students who ate breakfast scored higher in morning tests than those who did not. The researchers noted, however, that the breakfast eaters also tended to sleep longer and live closer to school.
What does the passage suggest?
A
Breakfast alone may not explain the higher scores.
B
Eating breakfast causes higher test scores.
C
Students who live far from school never eat breakfast.
D
Sleep has no effect on test scores.
Show answer
Answer: A. "However" introduces other differences (more sleep, shorter journeys) that could also explain the scores, so breakfast cannot be called the cause. "Never" overstates "tended to".
3. When the town's only bridge closed for repairs, the journey to the district hospital grew from twenty minutes to over an hour. In the following month, the small clinic in the town centre reported twice its usual number of visits, even though no new illness had appeared.
Which inference is best supported?
A
The clinic doctors were better than those at the hospital.
B
A new disease had spread in the town.
C
The bridge repairs caused injuries.
D
Many residents used the nearby clinic instead of making the longer trip to the hospital.
Show answer
Answer: D. The visits doubled just as the hospital trip became much longer, with no new illness, so people most likely switched to the closer clinic. The passage rules out a new disease.
4. The sign at the hospital gate read: "Visiting hours: 4 pm to 6 pm. Only two visitors per patient." At 7 pm, the guard stopped a family of four at the gate.
Why was the family most likely stopped?
A
The guard did not like the family.
B
The patient had been discharged.
C
The hospital was closed for repairs.
D
They came after visiting hours, and there were more than two of them.
Show answer
Answer: D. At 7 pm visiting hours had ended, and four people is more than the two allowed. Nothing in the passage supports the other reasons.
5. The bakery on Mall Road used to have a long queue every morning. Since a new bakery opened next door offering the same bread at a lower price, the queue outside the old shop has almost disappeared, while the new shop is crowded.
Which inference is best supported?
A
Many customers have switched to the new bakery, probably because of its lower prices.
B
The old bakery's bread has become worse.
C
The old bakery will close next month.
D
People have stopped eating bread.
Show answer
Answer: A. Same bread, lower price next door, and the crowd moved there, so customers switched for price. The new shop being crowded rules out people buying less bread.
6. The library extended its opening hours to midnight during exam season. The librarian noted that the reading room, usually empty after eight in the evening, was full until closing time every night that month.
What can be inferred?
A
The library will now stay open until midnight all year.
B
Students preferred the library to their homes all year round.
C
The reading room was too small for the students.
D
Many students used the extra hours to study during exams.
Show answer
Answer: D. The room filled up only when the late hours were offered in exam season, so students used that time to study. Nothing is said about the rest of the year or the size of the room.
7. Exercise is often seen only as a way to stay fit. Yet studies show that regular physical activity also improves mood, reduces stress and helps people sleep better. Even a brisk twenty-minute walk can make a difference to how a person feels for the rest of the day.
The main idea of the passage is that
A
walking is better than running
B
exercise benefits the mind as well as the body
C
twenty minutes of exercise is enough for fitness
D
stress is caused by lack of sleep
Show answer
Answer: B. "Yet ... also" adds mental benefits (mood, stress, sleep) to physical fitness. The twenty-minute walk is an example about feeling better, not a fitness target.
8. Bilal's marks in chemistry rose steadily after he joined a study group. His marks in other subjects, which he studied alone, stayed the same.
Which conclusion is most reasonable?
A
Studying alone lowers marks.
B
The study group may have helped his chemistry.
C
Chemistry is easier than other subjects.
D
Bilal stopped studying other subjects.
Show answer
Answer: B. Only the subject studied in the group improved, which suggests the group helped. Marks in subjects studied alone stayed the same, so they did not fall.
9. The water level in the reservoir has fallen for three months in a row. The city has asked residents not to water gardens or wash cars, and warned that further steps may follow.
What can most reasonably be inferred?
A
The city expects a possible water shortage.
B
It has rained heavily for three months.
C
Residents have stopped washing cars.
D
The reservoir is being repaired.
Show answer
Answer: A. Falling water levels, requests to save water and a warning of further steps all point to a feared shortage. Whether residents obeyed is not stated.
10. Rubina's bicycle tyre was flat on Monday morning. She pumped it up, but by Tuesday it was flat again. She did the same on Tuesday evening, and on Wednesday morning the tyre was flat once more.
What is the most reasonable inference?
A
Someone is letting the air out of the tyre.
B
The tyre probably has a slow leak that pumping does not fix.
C
Rubina's pump is broken.
D
Rubina rides on rough roads.
Show answer
Answer: B. A tyre that goes flat again overnight after each pumping most likely has a slow leak. The pump works, since the tyre was inflated, and there is no hint of anyone tampering with it.
Chapter test. Ten questions from English · Reading, drawn fresh each time, about ten minutes.
Practice mode. The right answer and the explanation after every question, with no clock. Exam mode keeps the marks until the end and runs a timer.
Hints. One tap for a nudge, a second to remove two wrong options.
My mistakes. Every question you get wrong is kept, and leaves the list once you get it right.
English · Reading: questions students ask
How many English · Reading MCQs are there?
22, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 1 topics: Short passages. Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.
Is the MDCAT English chapter 4 test free?
Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.
How is the chapter test marked?
The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.
