ISC Comprehension Practice – 5 Samples (Solved)

Practice Sample 1

Read the passage given below and answer the questions (i), (ii) and (iii) that follow.

(1)	I said I'd pack. I always do pack, and I am good at it. I find I work better
	without any interference from other people. Harris offered to help me pack,
	but I declined his offer. George said he'd wait and see me do it — which
	was the particular form of assistance he preferred. I told them both that I
	needed no help and that the packing would be done properly and efficiently.	5

(2)	I opened the bag and began. The first thing I did was to fall over it and
	hurt my ankle. George looked up from his newspaper and laughed. I said
	nothing at the time, but I think he regretted that laughter before the evening
	was done. I packed the boots at the bottom, then placed the coats carefully
	on top. Then Harris pointed out, in a casual sort of way, that I had forgotten the soap.	10

(3)	I unpacked everything to find the soap. It was at the very bottom. I repacked.
	Then I remembered that my tobacco pouch, which I always carry on a journey,
	was still on the table. I had to unpack everything again. I put in the tobacco
	pouch and repacked for the second time. George remarked, in a mild sort of
	way, that he thought the packing was going rather well.	15

(4)	Halfway through, I sat back and surveyed my work. The bag was beginning to
	fill up nicely. I pressed things down hard, making room for the last few items.
	Shirts were rolled tightly and socks packed into shoes to save space. It was at
	this point that Harris asked, helpfully and without being invited, whether I had
	put in the butter. I had not.	20

(5)	I searched for the butter. It was on the kitchen table, wrapped in brown paper.
	I put it in. The butter then proceeded to melt in a rather inconvenient way,
	distributing itself among the clean shirts and over the leather sides of the bag.
	I removed it, wrapped it again and tried to fit it somewhere safer. The bag
	refused to shut properly after that.	25

(6)	Through all of this, Montmorency, the dog, showed enormous interest in the
	proceedings. He sat beside the bag with an alert, helpful expression, as if at
	any moment he might offer useful advice. He got into the bag once, when I
	was not paying attention, and sat among the shirts and shoes with a pleased
	and self-satisfied air. He had to be removed. His expression, as he was lifted	30
	out, was one of patient and dignified suffering.

(7)	It was past ten o'clock by the time I had the bag shut and locked. I had to
	sit on it in order to get it closed, and Harris had to hold the strap while I
	buckled it. During this operation, Montmorency had walked across the bag
	three times and been scolded each time. The final result was not neat, but it	35
	was done.

(8)	Harris then said he and George would do the other bag together. They started
	at half past ten. I watched them. They were cheerful about it at first. They
	spread things out across the floor and then looked at them for a long while
	before picking them up. The watches, the books and the bottle of medicine all	40
	had to be arranged with great care.

(9)	At one point Harris trod on the butter, which had escaped again, and sat down
	heavily on the jar of strawberry jam. George became confused about which bag
	the boots belonged in, and spent some time placing them, removing them and
	replacing them in exactly the same position. The travelling clock was forgotten	45
	on the mantelpiece three times.

(10)	At a quarter past twelve, everything was in and the bags were closed. We had
	broken a cup, mislaid a boot brush and packed two things that were not meant
	to be taken. None of us was in a very good temper. Montmorency was the
	only one who appeared satisfied with the evening's work.	50

(Adapted from: Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome, 1889)

(i) (a) Find a single word from the passage that will exactly replace the underlined word or words in the following sentences. [3]

After the storm, the farmer looked carefully over his fields to assess the damage.
The heavy rain was spreading itself over the entire district, causing widespread flooding.
The student had carelessly lost her admit card somewhere in the examination hall.

(i) (b) For each of the words given below, choose the correct sentence that uses the same word unchanged in spelling, but with a different meaning from that which it carries in the passage. [3]

fall (line 6)
(A) The autumn fall brings a golden carpet of leaves to the garden.
(B) She warned him not to fall on the slippery steps.
(C) Be careful not to fall off the ladder while painting the ceiling.
(D) I watched the heavy snow fall silently outside the window.
fit (line 24)
(A) The tailor measured the cloth to check that the jacket would fit him.
(B) The new mother struggled to fit the pram through the narrow gate.
(C) She tried hard to fit all her shopping bags into the small car boot.
(D) The swimming champion was declared fit enough to compete at the nationals.
packed (line 9)
(A) She carefully packed her medicines into the small overnight case.
(B) The stadium was packed with thousands of cheering supporters.
(C) The movers packed all the furniture carefully into the truck.
(D) He packed the glass figurines in bubble wrap to protect them.

(ii) Answer the following questions as briefly as possible in your own words.

(a) What does the narrator's insistence on packing without help reveal about his character? [2]

(b) Describe the two problems caused by the butter during the packing. [2]

(iii) Summarise the difficulties faced by all three men during the packing and the final outcome (paragraphs 6 to 10). You are required to write the summary in the form of a connected passage in about 100 words. Failure to keep within the word limit will be penalised. [8]

Practice Sample 2

Read the passage given below and answer the questions (i), (ii) and (iii) that follow.

(1)	Saturday morning was come, and all the summer world was bright and fresh,
	and brimming with life. There was a song in every heart; and if the heart
	was young, the music issued at the lips. There was cheer in every face and
	a spring in every step. The locust trees were in bloom and the fragrance
	of the blossoms filled the air.	5

(2)	Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled
	brush. He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him and a deep melancholy
	settled down upon his spirit. Thirty yards of board fence nine feet high. Life
	to him seemed hollow, and existence but a burden. Sighing, he dipped his
	brush and drew it along the topmost plank; repeated the operation; did it again.	10

(3)	He began to think of the fun he had planned for this day, and his sorrows
	multiplied. Soon the free boys would come tripping along on all sorts of
	delicious expeditions, and they would make a great deal of fun of him for
	having to work — the very thought of it burnt him like fire. He got out
	his worldly wealth and examined it — bits of toys, marbles, and trash.	15

(4)	There was not enough to buy an exchange of work, not half enough to buy
	so much as half an hour of pure freedom. So he returned his pocketful of
	riches to his pocket and gave up the idea of trying to buy the boys. At
	this dark and hopeless moment an inspiration burst upon him — nothing less
	than a great, magnificent inspiration.	20

(5)	He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work. Ben Rogers hove in sight
	presently — the very boy of all boys whose ridicule he had been dreading.
	Ben was eating an apple and giving a long, melodious whoop at intervals.
	"Hello, old chap, you got to work, hey?" said Ben. Tom wheeled suddenly
	and said carelessly: "Why it's you, Ben! I warn't noticing."	25

(6)	"Say — I'm going in a-swimming, I am. Don't you wish you could? But of
	course you'd druther work — wouldn't you?" Tom contemplated the boy a bit
	and said: "What do you call work?" "Why, ain't that work?" Tom resumed
	his whitewashing and answered carelessly: "Well, maybe it is, and maybe it
	ain't. All I know is, it suits Tom Sawyer."	30

(7)	"Like it? Well, I don't see why I oughtn't to like it. Does a boy get a
	chance to whitewash a fence every day?" That put the thing in a new light.
	Ben stopped nibbling his apple. Tom swept his brush daintily back and forth —
	stepped back — noted the effect — added a touch here and there — criticised
	the effect again — Ben watching every move, getting more and more absorbed.	35

(8)	Presently Ben said: "Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little." Tom considered,
	was about to consent; but he altered his mind: "No — no — I reckon it
	wouldn't hardly do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly's awful particular about this
	fence — right here on the street, you know — but if it was the back fence
	I wouldn't mind and she wouldn't."	40

(9)	"Oh, shucks, I'll be just as careful. Now lemme try. Say — I'll give you
	the core of my apple." "Well, here — No, Ben, now don't. I'm afeard —"
	"I'll give you all of it!" Tom gave up the brush with reluctance in his face
	but alacrity in his heart. And while Ben worked and sweated in the sun,
	the retired artist sat on a barrel in the shade, dangled his legs and munched	45
	his apple, planning the slaughter of more innocents.

(10)	There was no lack of material; boys happened along every little while.
	They came to jeer, but remained to whitewash. By the afternoon, Tom had
	traded the chance to whitewash for a kite, a dead rat, twelve marbles,
	and a great deal of time comfortably spent doing absolutely nothing at all.	50

(Adapted from: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain, 1876)

(i) (a) Find a single word from the passage that will exactly replace the underlined word or words in the following sentences.

There was an energetic bounce in the young athlete's stride as she neared the finish line.
Despite the noise around her, she calmly and peacefully continued with her work.
He accepted the difficult assignment with cheerful willingness, though he tried hard not to show it.

(i) (b) For each of the words given below, choose the correct sentence that uses the same word unchanged in spelling, but with a different meaning from that which it carries in the passage.

spring (line 4)
(A) The mountain spring provided fresh water to the weary travellers.
(B) There was a spring in her step as she left the examination hall.
(C) He walked with a spring in his stride after receiving the good news.
(D) The spring in her movements showed how excited she truly was.
noted (line 34)
(A) He stepped back and noted the effect of his brushwork on the canvas.
(B) She noted down every important instruction the doctor gave her carefully.
(C) The teacher noted the change in her student's attitude over the term.
(D) Rahul noted the expression on his friend's face before responding.
light (line 32)
(A) She began to see the problem in a completely new light after their talk.
(B) He viewed the situation in a different light once he had all the facts.
(C) The light from the candle flickered gently in the evening breeze.
(D) Seen in the right light, the difficulties ahead seemed quite manageable.

(ii) Answer the following questions as briefly as possible in your own words.

(a) Why did Tom's cheerful mood disappear the moment he saw the fence?

(b) What was Tom's "great, magnificent inspiration" and how did it change his approach?

(iii) Summarise how Tom manipulated Ben and the final outcome of the morning's work (paragraphs 7 to 10). You are required to write the summary in the form of a connected passage in about 100 words. Failure to keep within the word limit will be penalised.

Practice Sample 3

Read the passage given below and answer the questions (i), (ii) and (iii) that follow.

(1)	The name of the house was Satis House — which in old English means
	"enough." Whoever had given it that name had meant that whoever had
	the house could want for nothing else. Yet as I approached it that grey
	morning, it struck me as a name full of irony. The building was of old
	brick, dismal, and had a great many iron bars to its windows.	5

(2)	A young girl came across the courtyard with keys in her hand and let me
	in through the gate. She was about my own age but far more poised and
	certain of herself than I was. She was very pretty and seemed very proud.
	She said nothing as she led me through the darkness, carrying a candle
	to light the way.	10

(3)	We went into the house by a side door — the great front entrance had
	been closed for years. Inside, everything was still and close, and when
	she set the candle down on a stone floor, I noticed that the light did
	not travel far. The passages were cold and dark. I could hear no sound
	anywhere except the muffled beat of my own heart.	15

(4)	She brought me to a large room lit with wax candles. No daylight was
	to be seen in it. It was a dressing room, but its most prominent feature
	was a long table with a tablecloth spread over it, as if a feast had been
	laid and then forgotten. A great cake sat in the centre, so covered with
	cobwebs that it seemed to have been there since the beginning of memory.	20

(5)	At the table sat the strangest figure I had ever seen. She was dressed in
	rich materials — satins, and lace, and silks — all of white. Her dress
	had been put on the figure of a young woman, but the figure itself had
	shrunk to skin and bone. One shoe was on her foot; the other lay on
	the table nearby. The bridal veil was on her head, but her hair was white.	25

(6)	Everything that should have been white had been white a long time ago
	and had lost its lustre, and was now faded and yellow. I noticed that her
	watch had stopped at twenty minutes to nine. The flowers on the table
	had dried to dust. The whole room breathed the same air of something
	deliberately preserved, as though time had been ordered to stand still.	30

(7)	"Look at me," she said. "You are not afraid of a woman who has never
	seen the sun since before you were born?" I answered that I was not
	afraid. She asked me to play, but I was so unused to the place and to
	the figure before me that I could not play. I told her this honestly, and
	she asked me to come closer. "Call the girl," she said.	35

(8)	Estella came in and Miss Havisham told her to play cards with me. While
	we played, Estella treated me with the greatest contempt. She spoke of
	me as if I were not present. "He is a common labouring boy," she said,
	"and his boots are thick and his hands are coarse." I wanted to cry, not
	from grief but from a rage I did not know how to express.	40

(9)	Miss Havisham watched us with the intense interest of someone who found
	great satisfaction in the scene before her. She seemed to derive something
	important from watching the contempt that Estella showed me, though I
	could not then understand why. Her bright eyes watched my face as though
	she were searching for something she had waited a long time to see.	45

(10)	When I left the house and found myself in the open air again, I felt
	that I was different from when I had arrived. The girl's contempt had
	entered me like a splinter that I could not remove; it changed the way
	I looked at myself, and I did not yet know whether that change would
	ever fully leave me.	50

(Adapted from: Great Expectations, Charles Dickens, 1861)

(i)(a) Find a single word from the passage that will exactly replace the underlined word or words in the following sentences. * The abandoned building had a gloomy and depressing appearance …

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Practice Sample 4

Read the passage given below and answer the questions (i), (ii) and (iii) that follow.

(1)	One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it
	was in pennies, saved one and two at a time by careful bargaining with
	the grocer and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with embarrassment.
	Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And
	the next day would be Christmas.	5
(2)	There was nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and
	howl. So Della did it. While the mistress of the home was gradually
	subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home.
	A furnished flat at eight dollars per week. It did not exactly beggar
	description, but it certainly had that word very much on the lookout.	10
(3)	There were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they
	both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his
	father's and grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. Had the Queen
	of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let
	her hair hang out the window to dry and make Her Majesty envious.	15
(4)	Della stood by the window and looked out dully at a grey cat walking
	a grey fence in a grey backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and
	she had only one dollar and eighty-seven cents with which to buy Jim
	a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with
	this result. And there was nothing for it but to sit down and cry.	20
(5)	Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. Her eyes
	were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its colour. She let down
	her beautiful hair and let it fall to its full length. It reached below
	her knees and made almost a garment for her. Then she put it up
	again quickly and stood quite still while a tear or two splashed on the floor.	25
(6)	On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With the
	brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she clattered down the stairs to the
	street. She stopped before a sign that read: Madame Sofronie. Hair Goods
	of All Kinds. One flight up Della ran, panting, composing herself with
	difficulty. Madame Sofronie, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the part.	30
(7)	"Will you buy my hair?" asked Della. "Take your hat off and let's have
	a sight at the looks of it," said Madame. Down rippled the brown cascade.
	"Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand.
	"Give it to me quick," said Della. And the next two hours tripped by
	on rosy wings as Della searched the stores for Jim's perfect present.	35
(8)	She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else.
	It was a platinum watch chain, simple and chaste in design, quietly
	proclaiming its value by substance alone. It was worthy of The Watch.
	Twenty-one dollars. She hurried home, her hair cropped into soft, close
	curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy.	40
(9)	At seven o'clock the coffee was made and the frying pan was on the
	stove, hot and ready to cook the chops. Jim was never late. Della
	doubled the watch chain in her hand and sat at the corner of the table
	near the door. Then she heard his step on the stair, and she turned
	white for just a moment. Jim stopped inside the door as immovable as	45
	a setter at the scent of quail.
(10)	He stared at her fixedly with a peculiar expression on his face. It was
	not anger, nor surprise, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments she had
	been prepared for. He simply stared at her with that strange expression.
	Jim drew a package from his overcoat and threw it on the table. "If
	you'll unwrap it, Dell," he said quietly, "you may see why I stared."	50

(Adapted from: The Gift of the Magi, O. Henry, 1905)

(i)(a) Find a single word from the passage that will exactly replace the underlined word or words in the following sentences. * The sheer grandeur of the mountain at sunrise seemed to defy all ad…

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Practice Sample 5

Read the passage given below and answer the questions (i), (ii) and (iii) that follow.

(1)	When Mr. Hiram B. Otis, the American Minister, bought Canterville Chase, everyone
	told him he was doing a very foolish thing, as there was no doubt at all that
	the place was haunted. Indeed, Lord Canterville himself, who was a man of the
	most punctilious honour, had felt it his duty to mention this fact to Mr. Otis
	when they came to discuss the terms of the purchase.	5
(2)	"We have not cared to live in the place ourselves," said Lord Canterville, "since
	my grandaunt, the Dowager Duchess of Bolton, was frightened into a fit from which
	she never fully recovered, by two skeleton hands being placed on her shoulders
	as she was dressing for dinner. I feel bound to tell you, Mr. Otis, that the
	ghost has been seen by several living members of my family, as well as the rector."	10
(3)	"My Lord," answered the Minister, "I will take the furniture and the ghost at a
	valuation. I have come from a modern country where we have everything that money
	can buy. A ghost, sir, we are simply not in a position to have at present, and
	I fancy that if there were such a thing in Europe, we would have imported it
	long ago into one of our public museums."	15
(4)	A few weeks later, on a damp evening in September, the Otis family arrived at
	Canterville Chase. Mrs. Otis had been a celebrated New York beauty. Her eldest
	son, Washington, was a fair-haired young man with no particular aim in life.
	After Washington came the twins, who were delightfully mischievous. Last of all
	came little Virginia, a delicate girl of fifteen, with large blue eyes.	20
(5)	Immediately on their arrival, they noticed a dull red stain on the floor just by
	the fireplace and concluded at once that it was blood. "I don't think it would be
	right to leave a stain upon the floor," said Mrs. Otis calmly, and before the
	night was over she had applied Pinkerton's Champion Stain Remover to the spot.
	By morning it had been removed entirely, to the great surprise of the housekeeper.	25
(6)	The following morning the stain had reappeared. Once again Mrs. Otis removed it
	without fuss. The next day it appeared once more. The family began to take a
	certain cheerful interest in this phenomenon. The twins called it the "blood spot"
	and pointed it out with enthusiasm to visitors. Only Virginia said nothing but
	remained quietly thoughtful whenever she walked past it.	30
(7)	That night all doubts about the reality of the ghost were finally set at rest.
	At eleven o'clock the family heard a terrible clanking noise from the corridor.
	The Minister opened his door and found the ghost standing there. He was an old
	man of terrible aspect, with long grey hair falling about his shoulders. His
	garments, of antique cut, were soiled and ragged, and his eyes burned like fire.	35
(8)	Far from being terrified, Mr. Otis reached calmly into his dressing gown pocket
	and drew out a small bottle. "I must ask you to oil those chains," he said
	pleasantly, "as they are quite impossible to sleep through. I have brought you
	Tammany Rising Sun Lubricant, which is said to be completely efficacious upon
	one application." The ghost stared in fury and swept away down the dark corridor.	40
(9)	From that night onwards the Canterville Ghost had a thoroughly miserable time.
	Things were thrown at him, traps were laid in his path, and the twins treated
	every one of his appearances as a source of the liveliest amusement. He found
	himself growing old and weary, quite unable to perform even the most elementary
	of his professional duties as a ghost.	45
(10)	Only Virginia treated him with any genuine kindness. One afternoon she found him
	sitting alone in a small chamber at the top of the house. He looked so forlorn
	and so entirely forgotten that she felt a sudden, unexpected rush of compassion.
	Though she had been warned to keep away, she sat down beside him and listened
	quietly as he spoke to her of the burden that had kept him wandering for centuries.	50

(Adapted from: The Canterville Ghost, Oscar Wilde, 1887)

(i)(a) Find a single word from the passage that will exactly replace the underlined word or words in the following sentences. * The inspector was known for his strict attention to correct behavio…

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Published: March 23, 2026 • Last updated: March 27, 2026

Portions of this article were developed with the assistance of AI tools and have been carefully reviewed, verified and edited by Jayanta Kumar Maity, M.A. in English, Editor & Co-Founder of Englicist.

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Reading Comprehension

ISC Comprehension Practice – 5 Samples (Solved)

Practice Sample 1

Suggested Answers – Sample 1

Practice Sample 2

Suggested Answers – Sample 2

Practice Sample 3

Practice Sample 4

Practice Sample 5

Reading Comprehension

ISC Comprehension Practice – 5 Samples (Solved)

Practice Sample 1

Suggested Answers – Sample 1

Practice Sample 2

Suggested Answers – Sample 2

Practice Sample 3

Practice Sample 4

Practice Sample 5

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