Practice mode Reading Comprehension

Which of the following best describes the author’s argument in the passage about plastic bags?

Read the passage: Plastic shopping bags are cheap, light and convenient, which is exactly why they have become such a problem. They block drains, choke animals and remain in the soil for centuries. Some shopkeepers argue that customers will not accept cloth bags. But experience in several towns shows otherwise: when a small charge was placed on plastic bags, most shoppers began bringing their own within months. The lesson is clear. People are not unwilling to change; they simply need a reason. A modest fee, backed by cheap reusable alternatives, can achieve what years of posters and slogans could not.

Correct answer B. A small charge on plastic bags can successfully change shoppers' habits

Explanation

The author cites towns where a small charge led most shoppers to bring their own bags and concludes that a modest fee works better than posters and slogans.

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Question 01 Reading Comprehension

What can be inferred from the passage about why medical trials include a placebo group?

Read the passage: When new medicines are tested, researchers usually divide volunteers into two groups. One group receives the real drug, while the other receives a placebo, a dummy pill that looks identical but contains no active ingredient. In the best-designed trials, neither the volunteers nor the doctors giving the pills know who is receiving which. This matters because people who believe they are being treated often report feeling better, even when they have taken only a sugar pill. This improvement, known as the placebo effect, can be surprisingly strong for symptoms such as pain. A new medicine is considered effective only if it produces clearly better results than the placebo.

Correct answer B. Without one, improvement caused by patients' expectations could be mistaken for the drug's effect.

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Question 02 Reading Comprehension

According to the passage about Mr Aslam’s solar panels in Gujranwala, why does he clean them every two weeks?

Read the passage: Mr Aslam, a retired teacher in Gujranwala, installed six solar panels on his roof last year after growing tired of power cuts during the summer. The panels are connected to a set of batteries, so the fans and lights keep running even when the electricity supply fails. On sunny days the system produces more power than his household needs, and the spare energy charges the batteries for the evening. He cleans the dust off the panels every two weeks with a soft cloth and water, because he noticed that dirty panels produced noticeably less power. His only regret, he says, is that he did not install the system years earlier, when his children were still living at home.

Correct answer A. Dirty panels produce noticeably less power.

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Question 03 Reading Comprehension

What is the passage about microplastics mainly about?

Read the passage: Microplastics are pieces of plastic smaller than five millimetres across. Some are made deliberately small, but most form when larger items such as bottles and bags break into fragments under sunlight and waves. Washing clothes made from synthetic fabrics releases tiny fibres, and car tyres shed particles as they wear down on roads. Rain and rivers carry these particles into the sea. Scientists have now found microplastics almost everywhere they have looked, from deep ocean trenches to Arctic sea ice. Small sea creatures often mistake them for food, and the particles can pass up the food chain. Researchers are still studying what effects this may have on wildlife and on the people who eat seafood.

Correct answer D. Where tiny plastic particles come from and how widely they have spread

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Question 04 Reading Comprehension

What can be inferred from the passage about the dodo of Mauritius?

Read the passage: The dodo was a large, flightless bird that lived only on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. For thousands of years it had no natural predators there, so it nested on the ground and showed little fear of other animals. Dutch sailors arrived on the island in 1598. They hunted the birds for food, but the greater threat came from the animals they brought with them. Rats, pigs and monkeys raided the dodos' ground nests and ate their eggs. Within less than a century of the sailors' arrival, the dodo had disappeared completely. Its fate is now often used as an example of how quickly human activity can wipe out a species.

Correct answer D. Its lack of fear left it poorly prepared for the dangers that arrived with humans.

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Which of the following best describes the author’s argument in the passage about plastic bags?

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