SHORT CUTS FOR COMPREHENSION TEST FOR ALL EXAMS:
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Word comprehension bears the following meanings:
1. Comprehension is the ability to understand something.
For example,
This was utterly beyond her comprehension.
2. Comprehension is full knowledge and understanding of the mean¬ing of something.
For example,
They turned to one another with the same expression of dawning comprehension, surprise, and relief.
3. When pupils do comprehension, they do an exercise to find out how well they understand a piece of spoken or written language.
For example,
The course also features creative writing exercises and listening com-prehension.
When we use comprehension as a topic, it bears the third meaning. The word comprehension comes from the word comprehend, which means to understand. So, the Comprehension Test is based on the understanding capacity of a person/candidate. This is included in the scheme of the exam to test candidates' capacity to under-stand what is said or implied in the passage. Whether a candidate has understood what is said or implied in the passage is tested by asking ques¬tions on the passage.
In the Bank Clerical exam., a passage is given, followed by ten to fifteen questions. Ambng these ques¬tions, some are general questions on what is. said in the passage or ideas conveyed in the passage and some are on the terms used in the passage. These are the questions on syn¬onyms and antonyms. In most of the cases six (3+3) questions are asked separately. But in certain cases 3 or 4 questions are asked, which are scat¬tered among the general questions and don't appear separately. Number of general questions asked, ordinarily vary from 9 to 11. But for a deeper analysis of the questions asked on comprehension and the current trend, we must make a comparative study with suitable examples. Following are two passages appeared in Bank Clerical exams. These examples are given for comparison and for the con¬venience of further analysis.
We may classify.the questions asked in different exams into three types. Classifications are made on the basis of complexities which one faces at the time of answering the questions.
General, Type-1 question is that question, the clue to answering that contains in one place or in a sentence in the given passage.
General, Type-2 question is that question, the clue to answering that contains in more than one places or sentences in the passage. This type of questions is more complex, and so-lution is a time--consuming process. This type of question may remain in the following pattern :
• Which of the following state-ments is/are true in the context of the passage?
• Which of the following state-ments is/are false in the context of the passage?
In the recently held Bank Cledcal . exams, the presence of such type of questions showed a rising trend.
General, Type-3 questions are different from the above mentioned two types of question as the clue to answer this type of questions cannot be found in any sentence or part of the passage. Rather the answer should be made on the basis of what is implied in the passage. As the an¬swer cannot be made on the basis of what is said in the passage, this type of questions is real test of compre¬hending capacity.
To answer this type of question, one has to depend on his compre-hending capacity. The answer is no-where contained in the passage. If you can comprehend the passage wholly or if you guess the idea or message which the writer likes to con¬vey through the passage, then only you can answer this question. Other patterns of such type of questions are-
• Choose a suitable title of the passage from the options given below.
• From the reading of the pas¬sage we can infer that.
• From the reading of the pas-
sage it seems that the author is-
(1) an economi~t
(2) a political commentator (3) a newspaper journalist (4) a government servant (5) None of these
• The tone of the passage is-(1) cynical (2) analytical (3) descriptive (4) subjective (5) None of these
Different other patterns of ques-tions may be formed in such type. Type-3 is the most complex type of questions and the number of such type of questions is increasing day by day. To develop command over the solution of such type of questions, you may rely on PRATIYOGITA KIRAN and Practice Work Book published from KIRAN PRAKASHAN. And it is only through continuous practice you can earn this ability. For your conve¬nience the meanings of some terms related to such type of questions are given below :
1. Cynical : If you describe some¬one as cynical, you mean they be¬lieve that people always act selfishly. If you are. cynical about something, you do not believe that it can be suc¬cessful or that the people involved are honourable. Cynical means critical.
2. Descriptive : A description of someone or something is an account which explains what they are or what they look like. Descriptive language or writing indicates what someone or something is like.
3. Analytical: An analytical-way of doing something involves the use of logical reasoning. Analysis is the process of considering something carefully or using statistical methods in order to understand it or explain it.
Nowadays, in Bank Clerical ex-ams passages are getting complex. Earlier, passages were on historical facts and most of them were descrip-tive. A story, part of an autobiography or academic study of natural phenom¬ena were the subject matter of pas¬sages. Now we find most of the pas¬sages are on current economy. They are critical in nature and presentation is not very easy. Only a regular reader of newspapers can comprehend them fully. So, it is advisable that a candi¬date, if not a regular reader of news¬paper, should form the habit and con-centrate on editorial pages. Side by side persistent practice with the help of standardised practice sets will be fruitful for the candidate.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
As the passages are lengthy and complex, so solution of questions on comprehension is time consuming af-fair. As the examination is time bound and you have to answer all the ques¬tions within a limited time, the follow-ing advice may prove fruitful for you:
• First read the question instead of the passage.
• After reading the questions, read the passage carefully and when¬ever you find the exact words or the answer of the questions then mark the right choice.
• If there is any doubt, read the passage again and answer the questions.
• If there is any question on the theme of the passage or the heading, look for the clue in the first or the last sentence of the passage. But hint in these sen¬tences may not be reliable al¬ways.
