Reading Comprehension — Class 10 MCQs with Answers
Class 10 CBSE English · Chapter 40
60 practice questions · 20 Easy · 20 Medium · 20 Hard · Updated
Practise the most important Class 10 CBSE English questions from Chapter 40, "Reading Comprehension". You get 9 timed quizzes made from 60 NCERT-based MCQs, with answers and explanations. The questions are split into 20 Easy, 20 Medium and 20 Hard. Warm up on the basics, then move on to the exam-level questions that set top scorers in CBSE Board exams apart.
To score well in "Reading Comprehension", focus on comprehension, grammar and writing skills. Each MCQ here is timed and uses exam-style marking (+4 correct, −1 wrong, 0 skipped). This trains you to stay accurate under time pressure, as real papers need. Every question has a short explanation, so a wrong answer becomes a quick lesson. It is the fastest way to fix gaps before a test.
Use this chapter for focused revision. Start with the Easy set to check your basics on Reading Comprehension, then move to Medium and Hard to practise applying them. Your accuracy, streaks and XP save automatically. This chapter also adds to your overall Class 10 English mastery score. 12 sample questions are solved in full below, with the answer and a worked explanation. Sign in free to start practising.
Key concepts: Reading Comprehension (Class 10 English)
Section A gives you passages you have never seen, so there is nothing to memorise — this card is method. It covers the four reading skills the questions test, plus the data reasoning the case-based passages demand.
- Skimming
- Reading quickly to get the gist of a passage. Use it on the first pass, before you look at any question.
- Scanning
- Jumping to a specific piece of information — a date, a name, a figure — without reading everything. Use it once you know what the question wants.
- Where the main idea sits
- Usually in the topic sentence, most often the first sentence of a paragraph. That is where to look when asked for the central idea.
- Vocabulary from context
- Work out an unfamiliar word from the sentences around it rather than a remembered dictionary meaning — 'archive' becomes 'stores a record that can later be read' because the whole passage develops ice as a readable record.
Reading Comprehension — important questions & MCQs with answers (Class 10 English)
12 solved questions from this chapter's difficulty levels, each with its answer and explanation. The other 48 are timed and scored when you sign in.
- Q1Easy
Skimming means:
A.Reading every word slowlyB.Quickly reading to get the gist✓ CorrectC.MemorisingD.TranslatingAnswer: B. Quickly reading to get the gist
Explanation: Skim = fast read for main idea.
- Q2Easy
Read the passage and answer the question that follows. India's monsoon arrives over Kerala in the first week of June and takes about six weeks to cover the country. Forecasting it has never been simple. The India Meteorological Department issues a long-range outlook in April, but the figure it gives is a national average, and a national average can hide a great deal. A season that ends at 100 per cent of normal rainfall may still have left one district flooded and the next in drought. Since 2021 the department has issued district-level forecasts alongside the national one, and it is these that farmers actually use when deciding what to sow. The national number, for all the attention it receives each April, tells a farmer almost nothing about their own field. Q. When does the India Meteorological Department issue its long-range outlook?
A.In April✓ CorrectB.In the first week of JuneC.Six weeks after the monsoon arrivesD.In 2021Answer: A. In April
Explanation: The passage states the long-range outlook is issued in April.
- Q3Easy
Read the passage and answer the question that follows. A survey of 500 Class 10 students recorded how they spent the hour after school. Activity Students Screen time (phone) 210 Outdoor play 85 Homework 95 Household chores 70 Reading for pleasure 40 The same students were asked how many hours they slept. Those in the screen-time group averaged 6.2 hours; those in the outdoor-play group averaged 7.6 hours. Q. How many students spent the hour after school on homework?
A.70B.210C.95✓ CorrectD.85Answer: C. 95
Explanation: The table gives homework as 95 students.
- Q4Easy
Read the passage and answer the question that follows. For a century the public library was judged by the size of its collection. A library with more books was, self-evidently, a better library. That measure has quietly stopped working. Almost everything a small-town library holds is now available on a phone, and yet the libraries that are thriving are not the ones that bought the most books. They are the ones that became places to sit. A reading room with reliable power, a table, and no one asking you to buy anything is scarce in most Indian towns, and it turns out to be scarcer than information. The collection was never the point; it was only the thing that used to be hardest to provide. Q. According to the passage, how was a library traditionally judged?
A.By the size of its collection✓ CorrectB.By the number of its readersC.By the quality of its reading roomD.By the hours it stayed openAnswer: A. By the size of its collection
Explanation: The opening sentence states this directly.
- Q5Easy
Read the passage and answer the question that follows. Ice does not merely freeze; it archives. Each winter's snowfall settles on the Antarctic sheet and is pressed by the weight above it into a thin band of ice, sealing bubbles of that year's air as it goes. Drill down two miles and you reach air that was last breathed by a mammoth. Because the bands are annual, the record is legible in the way tree rings are legible: a scientist can count backwards through eight hundred thousand years. What the bubbles show is that carbon dioxide has risen and fallen many times before, but never at anything approaching its present rate. It is not the level that is unprecedented. It is the speed. Q. What does the word 'archives' mean as it is used in the first sentence?
A.Reflects sunlight back into spaceB.Stores a record that can later be read✓ CorrectC.Freezes at a very low temperatureD.Melts slowly over many yearsAnswer: B. Stores a record that can later be read
Explanation: The whole passage develops ice as a readable record, which is what an archive is.
- Q6Medium
Best way to guess meaning of an unknown word in a passage:
A.Skip itB.Rewrite the sentenceC.Translate to mother tongueD.Use surrounding context clues✓ CorrectAnswer: D. Use surrounding context clues
Explanation: Context lets you infer meaning without a dictionary.
- Q7Medium
Read the passage and answer the question that follows. In 1973, in a village in the Garhwal Himalaya, a group of women put their arms around the trees a contractor had come to fell. They were not protesting deforestation in the abstract. The slopes above their village had already been logged once, and the landslides that followed had taken their fields. The forest was not scenery to them; it was the thing holding the hill up. The movement that grew from that morning took its name from the Hindi word for embrace, and its central argument was never romantic. It was that the people who live with the consequences of a decision should have a say in making it. Q. Why did the women object to the felling?
A.They believed the trees were sacred.B.Earlier logging had caused landslides that destroyed their fields.✓ CorrectC.They wanted the timber for their own use.D.The contractor had not paid the village.Answer: B. Earlier logging had caused landslides that destroyed their fields.
Explanation: The passage gives the previous logging and resulting landslides as the reason.
- Q8Medium
Read the passage and answer the question that follows. Internet users in a state, in millions: Year Urban Rural Total 2019 28.0 9.5 37.5 2021 31.5 18.0 49.5 2023 33.0 29.5 62.5 Over the same period the price of one gigabyte of mobile data fell from ₹19 to ₹9. Q. Which group grew faster between 2019 and 2023?
A.Both grew at the same rateB.Neither grew; the total only appears to riseC.Rural, which more than tripled while urban grew by under a fifth✓ CorrectD.Urban, because it still has more usersAnswer: C. Rural, which more than tripled while urban grew by under a fifth
Explanation: Rural went 9.5 → 29.5 (about 3.1x); urban 28.0 → 33.0 (about 1.18x).
- Q9Medium
Read the passage and answer the question that follows. A city is measurably hotter than the fields around it, often by four or five degrees after sunset. Concrete and asphalt absorb heat all day and release it slowly through the night, so the city never cools to the temperature at which a body rests easily. The effect is worst where there is least tree cover, which in most Indian cities means the neighbourhoods where the poorest people live. Heat, in other words, is not distributed the way weather is. It is distributed the way land is. Q. Why does the city fail to cool at night?
A.Cities are built at higher altitudes.B.Concrete and asphalt release the heat they absorbed during the day.✓ CorrectC.There is no wind in cities after sunset.D.Air conditioners run all night.Answer: B. Concrete and asphalt release the heat they absorbed during the day.
Explanation: The passage attributes it to slow release from built surfaces.
- Q10Hard
Inference questions require you to:
A.Find a fact directly statedB.Read between the lines / draw conclusions✓ CorrectC.TranslateD.Count wordsAnswer: B. Read between the lines / draw conclusions
Explanation: Inference = unstated but implied meaning.
- Q11Hard
Read the passage and answer the question that follows. Only a small fraction of the plastic ever made has been recycled, and the reason is less about technology than about sorting. A clean stream of one kind of plastic can be melted and reused many times. A mixed stream cannot, because the polymers behave differently under heat and the result is a material too weak to sell. Sorting is therefore the whole problem, and sorting is done best at the moment of throwing away — by the person holding the object, who knows what it is. Every stage after that is an attempt to recover information that was free a moment earlier and is expensive ever afterwards. Q. What does the writer mean by 'information that was free a moment earlier'?
A.Recycling instructions used to be printed free of charge.B.Information about plastics is available online at no cost.C.Sorting machines were once cheaper to run.D.The thrower knew what the object was made of; once it is in a mixed bin, that knowledge is lost.✓ CorrectAnswer: D. The thrower knew what the object was made of; once it is in a mixed bin, that knowledge is lost.
Explanation: The 'information' is the identity of the plastic, known costlessly at the point of disposal.
- Q12Hard
Read the passage and answer the question that follows. Daily Air Quality Index readings for one week in a city: Day AQI Category Mon 142 Moderate Tue 181 Poor Wed 256 Very Poor Thu 310 Severe Fri 288 Very Poor Sat 165 Moderate Sun 134 Moderate Schools are advised to suspend outdoor activity when the AQI crosses 200. Q. Which statement is supported by the table and the advisory together?
A.Saturday required a suspension because the reading rose from Friday.B.Outdoor activity should have been suspended on three of the seven days.✓ CorrectC.Outdoor activity should have been suspended all week.D.The advisory was never triggered that week.Answer: B. Outdoor activity should have been suspended on three of the seven days.
Explanation: Only Wed, Thu and Fri exceed the 200 threshold; Saturday's reading fell, not rose.
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Start this chapter free →Reading Comprehension — FAQs
What are the key concepts in Class 10 English Reading Comprehension?+
Section A gives you passages you have never seen, so there is nothing to memorise — this card is method. It covers the four reading skills the questions test, plus the data reasoning the case-based passages demand. Key ideas include Skimming, Scanning, Where the main idea sits, Vocabulary from context.
What does Class 10 English Chapter 40 (Reading Comprehension) cover on XamBaaz?+
It has 60 NCERT-based MCQs on "Reading Comprehension": 20 Easy, 20 Medium and 20 Hard. Together they make 9 timed quizzes, and you never get the same set twice. Every question has an instant explanation. They help you prepare for CBSE Board exams.
Are these "Reading Comprehension" questions free to practise?+
Yes. Sign in with Google to practise "Reading Comprehension" free. Full unlimited access is ₹999/year on a launch offer until 1 December 2026. No chapter is charged separately.
How should I revise "Reading Comprehension" for the exam?+
Start with the Easy quiz to check your basics, then try Medium and Hard to practise applying them. There are 9 timed quizzes on this chapter, so you can come back for a fresh set instead of one you have seen. Read each explanation, retry the questions you miss, and track your accuracy until it stays high.
Are these "Reading Comprehension" MCQs available with answers?+
Yes. 12 sample questions are shown here in full, each with the correct option and a step-by-step "Why" explanation. Sign in free with Google to start practising, with instant scoring.
Is there negative marking in the "Reading Comprehension" quizzes?+
Yes. The timed quizzes use exam-style marking: +4 for a right answer, −1 for a wrong one and 0 for a skip. MHT-CET and CBSE board papers have no negative marking. Our mocks for those are scored their way.
What are the important questions from Reading Comprehension (Class 10 English)?+
The questions that matter most test Skimming, Scanning, Where the main idea sits, Vocabulary from context. This page shows 12 solved important MCQs with answers and explanations; all 60 questions on the chapter are available as timed quizzes once you sign in.
Is there an online quiz for Reading Comprehension?+
Yes — Class 10 English Reading Comprehension has timed online quizzes at Easy, Medium and Hard levels, with instant scoring and a worked explanation on every question. The first quiz on the chapter is free.