In reading comprehension (RC) you read a short passage and answer questions on it. The marks are 'free' because every answer is inside the passage — nothing depends on outside knowledge or opinion. The skill is finding the answer quickly: read the passage once for the overall idea, then go back to the exact line for each question. Questions come in five predictable types — factual detail, vocabulary-in-context, inference, main idea, and tone — and knowing the type tells you where to look. The two passages below are practice passages written for this lesson; they mirror the length and style of real Punjab Police RC.
The 4-step method
Read once, read the question, locate, eliminate.
1. Read the passage once for the gist — who or what it is about and the writer's main point. Do not memorise. 2. Read the question and name its type (detail, vocabulary, inference, main idea, tone). 3. Locate the exact line that deals with it — detail and vocabulary questions point to one line; main idea and tone come from the whole passage. 4. Eliminate options that say more or less than the passage. The right answer is supported by the text, never by what you already know.
| Question type | What it asks | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Factual detail | a fact stated in the passage | the exact line / number |
| Vocabulary-in-context | meaning of a word as used here | the sentence around the word |
| Inference | what follows logically, though not stated | two or more lines together |
| Main idea / title | the central point of the whole passage | first and last lines, overall |
| Tone / attitude | how the writer feels about the topic | adjectives and word choice |
Practice passage 1
Read once, then answer the three questions.
In the 1960s, Punjab led India's Green Revolution. New high-yielding seeds of wheat, together with assured irrigation from tube wells and canals, turned the state into the country's grain bowl within a single decade. Farmers who had once struggled to feed their own families now sold large surpluses to the government. Yet the same success brought new problems. Heavy use of chemical fertilisers and the pumping of groundwater year after year began to exhaust the soil and lower the water table. Today, agricultural scientists argue that Punjab must diversify beyond wheat and rice if its farming is to remain prosperous for the next generation.
Practice passage 2
This one tests main idea, inference and tone.
Meera had failed the examination twice, and most of her relatives had quietly given up on her. Her grandmother, however, refused to join them. Every evening she sat beside Meera at the small kitchen table, not to teach — she could barely read — but simply to keep her company while she studied. 'A lamp does not argue with the darkness,' the old woman would say, 'it just keeps burning.' When the results came the third time, Meera's name was on the list. She ran to the kitchen, but her grandmother only smiled, as though she had never once doubted it.
- The answer is in the passage — never pick an option just because it is true in real life.
- For detail questions, match the exact line; a close-but-changed number or name is the trap.
- 'Always / never / only / all' options are usually too strong for what the passage actually says.
- Vocabulary questions ask the meaning HERE, not the word's most common meaning elsewhere.
- For main idea, reject options that are true but cover only one small part of the passage.
- Read the whole passage once first; answering before reading wastes time re-searching.
Re-read Passage 1. Which title fits best? (a) The Dangers of Tube Wells (b) Punjab's Green Revolution: Success and Its Costs (c) How to Grow Wheat (d) The History of Indian Canals
Show answer
(b). A good title covers the whole passage — both the gains of the Green Revolution and the problems it created. (a) and (d) cover only one detail; (c) is a how-to the passage never gives.