Comprehension

Comprehension carries about 4 of the 16 English questions (our estimate) and mixes General English and Technical English passages. In the official model paper one passage with a Section B question (2 marks) is printed: a passage on how English words label animals, with the question "In the English language the animals are used for unpleasant comparisons". Passage questions are the most learnable English marks: there is no unseen rule, only a method.

4.1 Comprehension of reading passages: General and Technical English

Method for a two-minute passage

1. Read the questions first (not the options) so you know what to look for.
2. Read the passage once for the main idea; underline the first and last sentences of paragraphs, which usually state the argument and its conclusion.
3. For each question, find the sentence in the passage that answers it; do not answer from memory or from outside knowledge. Eliminate options that are true but not stated, too extreme (always, never, only, all), or opposite.
4. Vocabulary-in-context: replace the word with each option and see which keeps the sentence meaning.
5. Inference: the answer must follow necessarily from the text; the passage does not need to say it in the same words.
6. Tone words: critical, objective, optimistic, ironic, sympathetic, cautionary.

Time: at most 2 minutes per Section B question; a long passage at 2 marks is a quick mark once you have the method.

Question types, in order of difficulty

Technical English passages

They explain a device, a process, a material, a safety rule or a measurement. Expect: definitions (is defined as), classification (two types), process sequence (first, then, finally), cause and effect (as a result, because), comparison (whereas, unlike), numerical data. Read the numbers carefully; one option often reverses a comparison (higher versus lower).

Practice passages

Passage 1 — General English

Cities have always been shaped by the way people move. The earliest towns were small enough to cross on foot, so shops, homes and workplaces stood close together. When the railway arrived, towns stretched along the tracks, and when the car became common, they spread out into wide suburbs that most people could only reach by driving. Planners now see the cost: long commutes, polluted air and roads so crowded that new lanes fill up within a few years of opening. Several cities have therefore begun to reverse the trend. They are building cycle lanes, protecting pavements and encouraging homes, offices and markets to share the same neighbourhoods. Early results suggest that such changes do not slow business; shops on pedestrian streets often report more customers, not fewer. The lesson is not that cars should disappear, but that a city designed around the car alone leaves many of its residents worse off.

Questions

1. The passage is mainly aboutahow transport has shaped cities and why some now change coursebthe history of the railwaycthe dangers of cyclingdthe economics of car manufacturing
2. According to the passage, early towns had homes and workplaces close together becausealand was cheapbthere were no carscpeople travelled on footdplanners ordered it
3. The word "reverse" in the passage most nearly meansacopybturn backcacceleratedignore
4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a cost of car-based planning?along commutesbpolluted airccrowded roadsdhigher rents
5. The writer would most likely agree thatacars should be banned from citiesbpedestrian streets harm local tradeca city built only for cars disadvantages many residentsdrailways caused the suburbs

Passage 2 — Technical English

A transformer changes the voltage of an alternating current without changing its frequency. It consists of two coils of insulated wire, the primary and the secondary, wound on a common core made of thin laminated sheets of soft iron. When an alternating voltage is applied to the primary, it produces a changing magnetic flux in the core, and this flux induces a voltage in the secondary. The ratio of the voltages is equal to the ratio of the number of turns in the two coils. A step-up transformer has more turns in the secondary and raises the voltage, whereas a step-down transformer does the opposite. Because the power cannot increase, a rise in voltage is always accompanied by a fall in current. This is why electricity is sent over long distances at very high voltage: the smaller current wastes less energy as heat in the transmission lines. The core is laminated, not solid, to reduce the eddy currents that would otherwise heat it.

Questions

1. A transformer does NOT changeathe voltagebthe currentcthe magnetic flux in the coredthe frequency
2. In a step-up transformerathe secondary has more turns than the primarybthe primary has more turns than the secondarycboth coils have equal turnsdthe current rises
3. Power is transmitted at high voltage becauseathe current is smaller, so less heat is lost in the wiresbthe frequency becomes lowercthe eddy currents are reduceddthe wires become thinner
4. The core is laminated in order toaincrease the voltagebreduce eddy currentscraise the frequencydinsulate the coils
5. The word "accompanied" in the passage is closest in meaning toaprecededbreplacedcoccurring together withdprevented by

Passage 3 — General English (inference and tone)

Many students believe that the best way to learn is to read the same chapter several times. The comfortable feeling of familiarity is, however, easily mistaken for understanding. Researchers who compare study habits repeatedly find that students who close the book and try to recall what they have read remember far more a week later than those who simply reread. Testing yourself is harder and feels less productive in the moment, which is precisely why many learners avoid it. The wise student treats difficulty not as a sign of failure but as evidence that the memory is being strengthened.

Questions

1. The writer's attitude toward rereading is best described asaenthusiasticbmildly criticalchostiledindifferent
2. "precisely why" in the passage suggests that the difficulty of self-testingais a reason students skip itbproves it is uselesscmakes it fundis exaggerated
3. Which can be inferred from the passage?aFamiliarity can give a false sense of knowingbRereading never helpscSelf-testing is easydResearchers prefer rereading
4. The best title for the passage isaThe Joy of ReadingbA History of Study MethodscWhy Recall Beats RereadingdHow to Write an Exam

Formula and fact sheet

Practice questions

Set A — Recall (6 questions)

1. In the passage on city transport, the writer says that new road lanesanever fill upbcost nothingcare always cycle lanesdfill up within a few years
2. In the passage on transformers, the primary and the secondary areatwo coils of insulated wirebtwo coresctwo currentsdtwo frequencies
3. According to the passage on study habits, students who test themselvesaforget fasterbremember more after a weekcread more oftendfeel more comfortable
4. A step-down transformerahas more turns in the secondarybraises the voltagechas fewer turns in the secondarydraises the power
5. In the transport passage, shops on pedestrian streets often reportafewer customersbno changechigher pricesdmore customers
6. The core of a transformer is made ofalaminated sheets of soft ironba solid copper blockcinsulating plasticdsteel wire

Set B — Understanding (5 questions)

Read the passage below and answer the questions.

Nepal gets nearly all of its electricity from rivers, because steep mountains and monsoon rain give its rivers great energy. In the dry winter, however, the flow falls and some plants produce much less power. Engineers therefore build reservoirs that store water in the wet season, and they also connect the grid to India so that surplus power can be sold in summer and shortfalls covered in winter.

1. The main idea of the passage isaNepal has no electricity problemsbIndia produces power for Nepalchydropower is Nepal's main source, with seasonal limits that engineers managedthe monsoon damages power plants
2. The word "shortfalls" most nearly meansasurplusesbdeficitscprofitsdfloods
3. Reservoirs help because theyastore wet-season water for the dry seasonbincrease rainfallccool the riversdreduce the slope
4. The passage implies that in summer Nepal often hasasurplus powerbtoo little powercno riversda broken grid
5. Which is NOT mentioned as a way of handling the dry-season problem?areservoirsbthe grid link with Indiacsolar farmsdselling surplus in summer