Reading comprehension II: central idea, author's view, purpose and passage-based facts: previous-year questions
263 real UPSC Prelims questions (2011–2026) with the official answer and a clear explanation. 71 of them came in the last five papers.
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Questions per year, counted from the official papers.
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Read the passage
Now India’s children have a right to receive at least eight years of education, the gnawing question is whether it will remain on paper or become a reality. One hardly needs a reminder that this right is different from the others enshrined in the Constitution, that the beneficiary – a six year old child cannot demand it, nor can she or he fight a legal battle when the right is denied or violated. In all cases, it is the adult society which must act on behalf of the child. In another peculiarity, where a child’s right to education is denied, no compensation offered later can be adequate or relevant. This is so because childhood does not last. If a legal battle fought on behalf of a child is eventually won, it may be of little use to the boy or girl because the opportunity missed at school during childhood cannot serve the same purpose later in life. This may be painfully true for girls because our society permits them only a short childhood, if at all. The Right to Education (RTE) has become law at a point in India’s history when the ghastly practice of female infanticide has resurfaced in the form of foeticide. This is “symptomatic of a deeper turmoil” in society which is compounding the traditional obstacles to the education of girls. Tenacious prejudice against the intellectual potential of girls runs across our cultural diversity and the system of education has not been able to address it.
Which one of the following statements conveys the inference of the passage ?
Answer (d) & explanation
There is no substitute for childhood education is correct (d). Step 1: an inference is something that follows from the passage but is not said word for word. Step 2: the passage says 'no compensation offered later can be adequate', and the missed opportunity 'cannot serve the same purpose later in life'. From this we infer that nothing can replace education missed in childhood: (d). Step 3: (a) is stated directly, so it is not an inference. (b) and (c) go beyond the passage; it never says adults are unreliable or that legal fights are prohibitive. So (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Tip: in inference questions, a statement copied from the passage is usually not the answer. Look for the idea the passage clearly implies.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
A moral act must be our own act; must spring from our own will. If we act mechanically, there is no moral content in our act. Such action would be moral, if we think it proper to act like a machine and do so. For, in doing so, we use our discrimination. We should bear in mind the distinction between acting mechanically and acting intentionally. It may be moral of a king to pardon a culprit. But the messenger carrying out the order of pardon plays only a mechanical part in the king’s moral act. But if the messenger were to carry out the king’s order considering it to be his duty, his action would be a moral one. How can a man understand morality who does not use his own intelligence and power of thought, but lets himself be swept along like a log of wood by a current ? Sometimes a man defies convention and acts on his own with a view to absolute good.
Which of the following statements is the nearest definition of moral action, according to the writer ?
Answer (b) & explanation
An action based on our sense of discretion is correct (b). Step 1: the passage says 'a moral act must be our own act; must spring from our own will', and 'we use our discrimination'. Discrimination here means judgement or discretion. That is (b). Step 2: check (a). The messenger who acts mechanically on orders is the writer's example of a non-moral act, so (a) is the opposite. Step 3: check (c) and (d). 'Clever' action and 'religious' action are never mentioned. So (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Tip: in old-style English, 'discrimination' means the ability to judge well, not unfair treatment. Knowing this unlocks the answer.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
He walked several miles that day but could not get anything to eat or drink except some dry bread and some water, which he got from cottagers and farmers. As night fell, he slept under a haystack lying in a meadow. He felt frightened at first, for the wind blew awfully over the empty fields. He felt cold and hungry, and was feeling more lonely than he had ever felt before. He, however, soon fell asleep, being much tired with his long walk. When he got up next day, he was feeling terribly hungry so he purchased a loaf of bread with a few coins that he had.
When the night fell, he slept
Answer (b) & explanation
Under a pile of dry grass is correct (b). Step 1: the passage says 'he slept under a haystack lying in a meadow'. Step 2: a haystack is a large pile of dried grass (hay) stored for animals. So 'under a pile of dry grass' means the same thing: (b). Step 3: (a) is wrong: the meadow is only where the haystack stood, and he was under the haystack, not in the open. (c) is wrong: he got food from cottagers but did not sleep in a cottage. (d) is wrong: no tree is mentioned.
Tip: these questions test vocabulary. Replace the passage's word with its plain meaning, then match the option.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.