Free CSE Reviewers Free Civil Service Exam Reviewer Online and DownloadsWelcome to another Civil Service Reading Comprehension tutorial. “Tutorial” in the sense that this entry will teach you to be more attentive to what you are reading while still comprehending quickly. CSE reading comprehension questions are not very difficult, but they take a lot of time. However, with practice and correct strategy, you will be able to reduce the time you spend on the questions, increase your chance of getting the correct answer, and even get a high score.
Before you can improve your reading comprehension, you must first understand what you’re currently reading and what it’s about. Reading and comprehension rely on a combination of vocabulary, context, and the interaction of words. So you must be able to understand each sentence before you can understand the text as a whole. If you struggle to comprehend the essential elements of a text, the context of a piece, the point of the passage, or the message of the story, then be sure to follow the tips below to better understand the CSE reading comprehension reviewers.
When answering reading comprehension questions, you should take note of the following:
- The main idea – is simply what the story is mainly about
- Climax – is the peak point or highlight of the story
- Plot – is the pattern of events of the story
- Conflict – is the tension and struggle part of the story
- Setting – is where and when the story takes place
- Best or alternative title – is usually being asked too so you must choose the best one that talks about the main idea
Reading Comprehension Questions
As with anything in life, practice makes you better. And that is what these Civil Service Reading Comprehension exercises aim to do, make you better. After you read each sentence given or passage, read the questions that follow it and the possible answers. Choose the best answer among the choices given. Good luck!
1. I. Serving on a jury is an important obligation of citizenship.
II. Many companies allow their employees paid leaves of absence to serve on juries.
What does the second sentence do?
A. It draws a conclusion based on the first sentence.
B. It counters what is stated in the first sentence.
C. It identifies the cause of the first sentence.
D. It reinforces what is stated in the first sentence.
2. I. According to the American Sleep Disorders Association, the average teenager needs around 9.5 hours of sleep per night, possibly because critical growth hormones are released during sleep.
II. The average adult requires between six and eight hours of sleep per night for optimal health and productivity.
How do the two sentences relate?
A. They establish a contrast.
B. They contradict each other.
C. They reinforce each other.
D. They provide a problem and solution.
3. In 1970 about sixty small and medium-sized factories in the United States adopted a four-day workweek. According to the plan, workers work forty hours but instead of the usual five-day week, they now work only four days. Workers are enthusiastic about the three-day weekly vacation. According to management, productivity has increased by about 18% since the inception of the new plan. Absenteeism has dropped by 69% and lateness is almost non-existent.
What are the effects being discussed in this passage?
A. increased productivity, enthusiasm, and attendance.
B. 40 hour workweeks for factory workers.
C. 69% lateness or absenteeism among workers.
D. significant changes in the 1970s.
4. The smaller a group is, the more opportunities we have to get to know other people well and to establish close ties with them. Two-person groups are the setting for many of our most intense and influential relationships. In three-person groups, coalitions become possible, with two members joining forces against a third member. Five-person groups are large enough so that people feel they can express their emotions freely and even risk antagonizing one another, yet they are small enough so that members show regard for one another’s feelings and needs.
This passage’s main idea is that;
A. two-person groups are an important part of our lives.
B. groups play a central part in every human activity, within the family, the workplace, and the government.
C. a five-person group is better than a two-person group.
D. the number of people in a group affects relationships within the group
5. Leonardo da Vinci is not only one of the most famous artists in history, but he was also a botanist, writer, and inventor. Even though most of his inventions were not built in his lifetime, many of today’s modern machines can be traced back to some of his original designs. The parachute, the military tank, the bicycle, and even the airplane were foretold in the imaginative drawings that can still be seen in the fragments of da Vinci’s notebooks. Over 500 years ago, this man conceived ideas that were far ahead of his time.
The author of this passage is praising da Vinci primarily for his;
A. artistic talent
B. fame
C. foresight
D. intelligence
6. Many people who have come close to death from drowning, cardiac arrest, or other causes have described near-death experiences—profound, subjective events that sometimes result in dramatic changes in values, beliefs, behavior, and attitudes toward life and death. These experiences often include a new clarity of thinking, a feeling of well-being, a sense of being out of the body, and visions of bright light or mystical encounters. Such experiences have been reported by an estimated 30 to 40 percent of hospital patients who were revived after coming close to death and about 5 percent of adult Americans in a nationwide poll. Near-death experiences have been explained as a response to a perceived threat of death (a psychological theory); as a result of biological states that accompany the process of dying (a physiological theory); and as a foretaste of an actual state of bliss after death (a transcendental theory).
The primary purpose of this passage is to;
A. inform
B. persuade
C. express disbelief in the afterlife
D. entertain
7. In the words of Thomas De Quincey, “It is notorious that the memory strengthens as you lay burdens upon it. “If, like most people, you have trouble recalling the names of those you have just met, try this: The next time you are introduced, plan to remember the names. Say to yourself, “I’ll listen carefully; I’ll repeat each person’s name to be sure I’ve got it, and I will remember. “You’ll discover how effective this technique is and probably recall those names for the rest of your life.
The quotation from De Quincey indicates that the memory;
A. always operates at peak efficiency
B. improves if it is used often
C. becomes very reliable if it’s loaded with Civil Service reading comprehension exercises
D. breaks down under great strain
8. Joseph Pilates was born in 1880 in Germany. He was a frail child and wished he could find a way to build up strength. During World War I, he worked as a nurse in the army and developed a set of exercises for patients to increase their strength. After the war, he moved to New York City and developed his method of exercise into what is known as Pilates.
According to the passage, Joseph Pilates;
A. demonstrated great physical strength throughout his entire life
B. knew much about anatomy but had little interest in exercise.
C. used his exercise methods for his purposes.
D. had both personal and professional reasons to develop exercise methods.
9. Unemployment was the overriding fact of life when Franklin D. Roosevelt became president of the United States on March 4, 1933. At the time, the government did not systematically collect statistics of joblessness; actually, it did not start doing so until 1940. The Bureau of Labor Statistics later estimated that 12,830,000 persons were out of work in 1933, about one-fourth of a civilian labor force of more than 51 million. Roosevelt signed the Federal Emergency Relief Act on May 12, 1933. The president selected Harry L. Hopkins, who headed the New York relief program, to run FERA. A gifted administrator, Hopkins quickly put the program into high gear. He gathered a small staff in Washington and brought the state relief organizations into the FERA system. While the agency tried to provide all the necessities, food came first. City dwellers usually got an allowance for fuel, and rent for one month was provided in case of eviction.
This passage is primarily about;
A. the creation of President Roosevelt’s FERA program
B. the effect of unemployment on United States families
C. methods of estimating unemployment rates in the 1930s
D. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency
10. All water molecules form six-sided structures as they freeze and become snow crystals. The shape of a snow crystal is determined by temperature, vapor, and wind conditions in the upper atmosphere. A snow crystal is always symmetrical because these conditions affect all six of its sides simultaneously.
The purpose of the passage is to present;
A. factual information
B. opposing scientific theories
C. a solution to a problem
D. a personal observation
Once you are done reading and answering the exercise, click on any of the social media buttons below to reveal the answer keys.
So how did you do in this Civil Service Reading comprehension exercise? I hope you got at least 8 correct answers. If you need more practice, then this CSE comprehension test will help you improve.
