English Reading Comprehension Set 29

Directions (Q.1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them.
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In a surprise election outcome, the Conservative Party led by David Cameron has been elected to govern the United Kingdom for the next five years, and this time on its own majority. The results of the fiercely fought May 7 elections belied pre-poll predictions of a tie between the Labour and Conservative parties and a hung Parliament in which the support of smaller parties would be key to crafting a coalition arrangement. The final outcome — predicted accurately only by the single exit poll published at 10 p.m. after polling ended — has the Conservatives comfortably past the midway 326-mark in the 650-seat House of Commons. The Labour Party, whose leader Ed Miliband ran a bold and earnest campaign that focussed on a new and fairer deal for the working people, has come a far second. The party’s traditional stronghold of Scotland has been lost to the Scottish National Party (SNP), which has swept up all but three of the 59 Scottish parliamentary seats. The Labour Party has also lost out to the Conservatives in England and Wales. The Liberal Democratic Party — perceived as untrustworthy for having reneged on its electoral promises while in coalition — wasdecimated, its numbers down from 57 in the last Parliament to just eight, and with several of its prominent leaders, including Vincent Cable, the Secretary of State for Business who had a prominent role in promoting trade with India, defeated. The right-wing anti-immigration, Eurosceptic United Kingdom Independence Party has got only one seat; its leader, Nigel Farage, failed to win one.

The Conservative Party takes credit for steering the country into economic recovery and creating two million new jobs. Its five-year mandate comes at a time when a million Britons depend on food banks for their survival, and where the numbers of people in poverty, according to a report from the New Policy Institute, have increased in the last two years by 800,000, from 13.2 million to 14 million. The numbers in “deep poverty” have increased from 8.9 million to 9.6 million, the same report states. The Conservative manifesto commits the party to welfare budget cuts of 12 billion to reduce the deficit. This comes over and above austerity measures that have already been undertaken. With Britain’s National Health Service in a financial and staffing crisis, higher education costs skyrocketing, a serious housing shortage on the cards, and utility costs soaring , the new government would appear to have its tasks cut out. Addressing these issues through the austerity route will rapidly abort Mr. Cameron’s promise of building “an even greater Britain”. Moreover, the uncertainty created by the in-out EU referendum pledged before 2017 by the Conservatives is likely to present a challenge for its international relations, even beyond EU.

 -Source The Hindu, Delhi Edition, 9th May

Q.1.Choose an appropriate title for the passage.

1) UK, The New Democracy

2) The Election

3) The Return of The Tories

4) Black Friday

5) None of these

Q.2.Which of the following can be true according to the passage?

A) In the end Conservative Party won the election.

B)The Conservative Party won all but three seats in Scotland.

C) The numbers in “deep poverty” have increased from 8.9 million to 9.6 million.

1) A and B

2) A and C

3) B and C

4) All A, B and C

5) None

Q.3.What does the conservative party manifesto commits?

1) To steer the Economy towards betterment.

2) To create two million opportunities for the unemployed.

3) To give poorer the support they need.

4) None

5) The Party commits to reduce the deficit in the upcoming year.

Q.4.What is the characteristic of the passage?

1) Narrative

2) Expository

3) Technical

4) Persuasive

5) None of these

Q.5.Which of the following can be the meaning of the phrase “which has swept up all but three”?

1) which won by three seats

2) which has got three seats more

3) Which has lost by all but three votes

4) Which has got three less than the total seat

5) None of the above

Q.6.What is the antonym of the word “earnest”?

1) Grave

2) Sober

3) Frivolous

4) Staid

5) None

Q.7.What is the antonym of the word “belied”?

1) Contradict

2) Reveal

3) Confute

4) Controvert

5) None

Q.8. What is the synonym of the word “decimated”?

1) Convolute

2) Craven

3) Diffidence

4) Exterminate

5) None

Q.9.What is the synonym of the word “perceived”?

1) Discern

2) Comprehend

3) Apprehend

4) All of the above

5) None of the above

Q.10.What word “austerity” mean?

1) Difficult economic condition created by government policies to reduce public expenditure.

2) Difficult decision taken by government to reduce the burden on poor.

3) Difficult economic situation in a country with such increasing poor.

4) Difficult situation where governments get embarrassed.

5) None

1. (3)
2. (2)
3. (5)
4. (1)
5. (4)
6. (3)
7. (2)
8. (4)
9. (4)
10. (1)

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