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Reading Comprehension Practice
As the first man approached the elephant, the elephant waved its trunk, and the man felt something brush past him. Managing to hold on to it, he felt it, and found something long and moving. He jumped back in alarm, shouting "Move away! This is a snake!" Meanwhile, the second man had moved closer, and walked right near its legs. As the man touched the thick, cylindrical-shaped legs, he called out "Do not worry. These are just four trees here. There is certainly no snake!" The third man was curious hearing the other two and moved forward. As he walked towards the elephant, he felt his hand touch one of the tusks. Feeling the smooth, sharp ivory tusk, the man cried out "Be careful! There is a sharp spear here". The fourth man cautiously walked up behind the elephant and felt its swinging tail. "It's just a rope! There is nothing to be afraid of! "He said. The fifth man had meanwhile reached out and was touching the huge ears of the animal. "I think all of you have lost your sense of touch!" he said. "This is nothing but a huge fan!" The sixth man did not want to be left out. As he walked towards the elephant, he bumped into its massive body, and he exclaimed, "Hey! This is just a huge mud wall! There is no animal at all!" All six of them were convinced that they were right and began arguing amongst themselves.
Wondering what the commotion was all about, the zookeeper arrived at the scene, and was surprised to see six blind men surrounding an elephant, each of them shouting at the top of their voice! "Quiet" he shouted out, and when they had calmed down, he asked, "Why are all of you shouting and arguing in this manner?"They replied, "Sir, as you can see, we are all blind. We came here to expand our knowledge. We sensed an animal here and tried to get an idea of its appearance by feeling it. However, we are not able to arrive at a consensus over its appearance, and hence are arguing. Can you please help us and tell us which of us is right"?
The zoo keeper laughed before answering, "My dear men, each of you has touched just one portion of the animal. The animal you see is neither a snake, nor any of the other things you have mentioned. The animal in front of you is an elephant!" As the six men bowed their head, ashamed of the scene they had created, the zoo keeper said, "My dear men, this is a huge animal, and luckily, it is tame. It stood by calmly as each of you touched it. You are extremely lucky that it stayed calm even during your argument, for if it had got angry, it would have trampled all of you to death!" He continued further, "It is not enough to gather knowledge, but it is also important to learn to share and pool your knowledge. Instead of fighting amongst yourselves, if you had tried to put all your observations together, you might have had an idea of the animal as a whole! Also, when you cannot see the entire truth, it is better to go to someone who does know the complete truth, rather than guess about small parts of it. Such half-knowledge is not only useless, but also dangerous. If you had come directly to me, I would have helped you identify all the animals without putting you in danger!" The six men apologized to the zoo keeper, and assured him that they had learnt their lesson. From now on, they would seek true knowledge from qualified people and would also try to work together as a team so that they could learn more.
1. Which part of the elephant resembled a big fan?
(a) The wide ears
(b) The mouth
(c) The long slender trunk
(d) The big, wrinkled body
(e) The end of the tail
2. Why did the six blind men visit the zoo?
(a) They wanted to touch an elephant
(b) They had heard a lot about animals
(c) They wanted to visit the animals in the zoo
(d) They wished to recognize animals by their touch and feel
(e) They had never been to a zoo before
3. What was the first thing the blind men came across as they entered the zoo?
(a) A large mud wall
(b) The trees
(c) A snake
(d) The zoo keeper
(e) The elephant
4. Why is it that each of the six blind men had different impressions of the elephant?
(A) Each of them touched only a portion of the elephant
(B) Each of the six blind men approached different animals
C) The blind men were touching the surroundings instead of the elephant
(D) They had never touched an elephant before
(a) Only (A)
(c) Only (C)
(e) Only(B)
(b) Only (A) and (C)
(d) Only (B) and (D)
5. Why were the six men arguing and shouting amongst themselves?
(a) Each of them wanted his voice to be heard over and above the others
(b) Each of them thought he was right about the animal
(c) There was a lot of noise in the zoo and they couldn't hear each other
(d) They were having an interesting debate
(e) None of these
6. What advice did the zoo keeper give to the six blind men?
(a) That the elephant was tame and obedient
(b) That they were very lucky to have had the opportunity to visit the zoo
(c) That it was important to share knowledge and work together as a team
(d) That they were not qualified to be knowledgeable individuals
(e) That the elephant is made up of different parts
7. Which statement best describes the zoo keeper's behaviour towards the six blind men?
(a) The zoo keeper insulted the six men
(b) The zoo keeper presented himself to be as ignorant as they were
(c) The zoo keeper helped them and assisted them further
(d) The zoo keeper was indifferent towards the six blind men
(e) The zoo keeper prohibited the six blind men from entering the zoo
Answer: -
1. (a) wide ears
2. (d) They wished to recognize animals by their touch and feel
3. (e) The elephant
4, (a) Only (A)
5, (b) Each of them thought he was right about the animal
6. (c) That it was important to share knowledge and work together as a team
7. (c) The zoo keeper helped them and assisted them further