Unseen Passage Practice: 8 Reading Comprehension Texts with Questions and Answers

Reading comprehension is tested almost everywhere: school exams call it an unseen passage, competitive exams and English tests call it reading comprehension, and the Duolingo English Test turns it into Interactive Reading. The skill is the same: understand a text you have never seen and answer questions about it from the text alone. Start with the method, then work through the eight passages. Each has five questions and an answer key that explains why each answer is right.

Which kind of question is it? A quiz

Every comprehension question is one of five kinds, and each kind is answered differently. Before the passages, try spotting the kind: it is the fastest way to know where to look for the answer.

How to answer an unseen passage

1. 1. Read the questions first

   You will then read the passage knowing what to look for.

2. 2. Read the passage once, quickly

   For the main idea: what is it about, and what is the writer’s point?

3. 3. Read it again, carefully

   Underline the line or words that answer each question.

4. 4. Answer from the passage only

   Not from what you already know. If the passage does not say it, it is not the answer.

5. 5. Use your own words

   Copying whole sentences often loses marks; short, complete answers win them.

6. 6. Check vocabulary questions in context

   Replace the word with your answer and read the sentence again. It should still make sense.

The five kinds of question

Passages 1–2: easy (about A2–B1)

Passage 1: The Saturday market

Every Saturday morning, Asha walks with her grandfather to the market near the river. The market opens at six, and by seven it is already full of people. Farmers bring vegetables from their villages in small trucks, and fishermen sell fish that they caught the night before. Asha’s grandfather always buys tomatoes, onions and a large bunch of coriander. He says that the best tomatoes are soft but not too soft, and that you should never buy the first ones you see. Asha’s favourite stall belongs to an old woman who sells hot peanuts in paper cones. Every week, the woman gives Asha a few extra peanuts and asks about school. After shopping, Asha and her grandfather sit by the river and eat the peanuts before they walk home with their heavy bags.

1. What time does the market open?
2. Where do the farmers come from?
3. What does Asha’s grandfather always buy?
4. What does “stall” mean in this passage?
5. How do you think Asha feels about Saturday mornings? Give a reason.

Answers to passage 1

1. At six in the morning. (Factual: “The market opens at six.”)
2. From their villages. (Factual.)
3. Tomatoes, onions and a large bunch of coriander. (Factual.)
4. A small shop or table in a market where things are sold. (Vocabulary from context: it “belongs to an old woman who sells hot peanuts”.)
5. She enjoys them: she has a favourite stall, gets extra peanuts and sits by the river with her grandfather. (Inference: any answer showing enjoyment, with a reason from the text.)

Passage 2: Why we need sleep

Sleep is not wasted time. While we sleep, the body repairs itself and the brain sorts the information it collected during the day. This is one reason why students who sleep well often remember more of what they studied. Teenagers usually need between eight and ten hours of sleep a night, but many get much less. One common cause is the light from phones and tablets, which can make it harder to fall asleep. Without enough sleep, people find it difficult to concentrate, they make more careless mistakes, and they may feel more irritable. Simple habits can help: going to bed at the same time every night, keeping the bedroom dark and cool, and putting screens away an hour before bed.

1. Name two things that happen while we sleep.
2. How many hours of sleep do teenagers usually need?
3. What is one cause of teenagers not getting enough sleep?
4. Give a word from the passage that means “easily annoyed”.
5. Suggest a suitable title for the passage.

Answers to passage 2

1. The body repairs itself, and the brain sorts the information from the day. (Factual.)
2. Between eight and ten hours a night. (Factual.)
3. Light from phones and tablets makes it harder to fall asleep. (Factual.)
4. Irritable. (Vocabulary.)
5. For example “The Importance of Sleep” or “Why Sleep Matters”. (Main idea: it covers what sleep does, what happens without it and how to sleep better.)

Passages 3–5: intermediate (about B1–B2)

Passage 3: The first bicycles

The bicycle did not begin with pedals. In 1817, a German inventor named Karl Drais built a wooden machine with two wheels and a seat, which the rider pushed along the ground with his feet. It was called a running machine, and for a short time it was fashionable in European cities. Over the next fifty years, inventors added pedals, first to the front wheel. Some of these machines had a huge front wheel, because a bigger wheel travelled further with each turn of the pedals. They were fast but dangerous: riders sat high above the ground and often fell. The real change came in the 1880s with the “safety bicycle”, which had two wheels of the same size and a chain that turned the back wheel. Its basic design is still the one we ride today.

1. What was unusual about Karl Drais’s machine?
2. Why did some bicycles have a very large front wheel?
3. Why were these large-wheeled bicycles dangerous?
4. What does “fashionable” mean here?
5. What two features made the safety bicycle different?

Answers to passage 3

1. It had no pedals; the rider pushed it along the ground with his feet. (Factual.)
2. A bigger wheel travelled further with each turn of the pedals, so the bicycle was faster. (Factual, with the reason.)
3. Riders sat high above the ground and often fell. (Factual.)
4. Popular for a while; something many people wanted to use. (Vocabulary from context.)
5. Two wheels of the same size, and a chain that turned the back wheel. (Factual.)

Passage 4: A lost wallet

Rohan noticed the wallet only when he sat down on the bench at the bus stop. It was brown, old and fat with papers. Inside there was some money, an identity card and a photograph of a smiling family. He looked around, but the street was empty except for a vegetable seller packing up his cart. For a moment Rohan thought about how much the money would help him; his own wallet held only enough for the bus fare. Then he looked at the photograph again. He took the next bus, but instead of going home he went to the address on the identity card. An elderly man opened the door, and when he saw the wallet, his eyes filled with tears. It held his whole pension for the month.

1. Where did Rohan find the wallet?
2. What was inside it?
3. Why did Rohan hesitate before returning the wallet?
4. What made him decide to return it? Explain.
5. Why was the old man so emotional?

Answers to passage 4

1. On the bench at a bus stop. (Factual.)
2. Some money, an identity card and a photograph of a family. (Factual.)
3. He had very little money himself, and the money in the wallet would have helped him. (Inference from “his own wallet held only enough for the bus fare”.)
4. Looking at the photograph again: it reminded him that the wallet belonged to a real person and family. (Inference.)
5. The wallet held his whole pension for the month, so losing it would have been a disaster. (Factual + inference.)

Passage 5: The monsoon

For much of India, the year is divided not into four seasons but into before and after the monsoon. The southwest monsoon usually arrives on the coast of Kerala in early June and spreads across the country over the following weeks, bringing most of the year’s rain between June and September. Farmers depend on it: rice, cotton and many other crops are sown when the rains come. A good monsoon can lift the whole economy, while a weak one can mean poor harvests and rising food prices. Yet the monsoon is not always gentle. Heavy downpours can flood cities whose drains were not built for so much water. Planning for the monsoon, from storing rainwater to keeping drains clear, is one of the most important jobs of every city and village.

1. When does the southwest monsoon usually reach Kerala?
2. Why do farmers depend on the monsoon?
3. What can happen to the economy if the monsoon is weak?
4. What does “downpours” mean?
5. What is the writer’s main point about the monsoon?

Answers to passage 5

1. In early June. (Factual.)
2. Crops such as rice and cotton are sown when the rains come. (Factual.)
3. Poor harvests and rising food prices. (Factual.)
4. Very heavy falls of rain. (Vocabulary from context: they “can flood cities”.)
5. The monsoon is essential (for farming and the economy) but can also be destructive, so planning for it matters. (Main idea: it covers both sides.)

Passages 6–8: advanced (about B2–C1)

Passage 6: The invention of paper

Before paper, writing was a luxury. People wrote on bamboo strips, which were heavy, or on silk, which was expensive. Around 105 CE, according to Chinese records, a court official named Cai Lun presented a new material to the emperor: sheets made from tree bark, old rags and hemp, beaten into pulp, spread thin and dried. Historians now believe that paper existed in China earlier, but Cai Lun’s method improved it and made it widely known. For centuries the technique remained a Chinese secret. It reached the Islamic world in the eighth century, where cities such as Baghdad built paper mills, and only later spread to Europe. Cheap paper changed what writing could be for: not only sacred texts and royal decrees, but letters, accounts, maps and, eventually, books for ordinary readers.

1. Why was writing a “luxury” before paper?
2. What materials did Cai Lun use?
3. What do historians now believe about the origin of paper?
4. Which word in the passage means “official orders from a ruler”?
5. According to the writer, what was the most important effect of cheap paper?

Answers to passage 6

1. The materials available were difficult or costly: bamboo strips were heavy and silk was expensive. (Factual + inference.)
2. Tree bark, old rags and hemp. (Factual.)
3. That paper existed in China before Cai Lun; he improved the method and made it widely known. (Factual.)
4. Decrees. (Vocabulary.)
5. Writing could be used for everyday purposes (letters, accounts, maps) and, eventually, books for ordinary people. (Main point of the last sentence.)

Passage 7: Coral reefs

Coral reefs cover less than one per cent of the ocean floor, yet they are home to roughly a quarter of all marine species. A reef is built by tiny animals called polyps, which take calcium from seawater and form hard skeletons; over thousands of years, these skeletons build up into enormous structures. Polyps share their bodies with microscopic algae that produce food through photosynthesis and give corals their colour. When the water becomes too warm, the corals expel the algae and turn white, a process known as bleaching. A bleached coral is not dead, but it is starving, and if high temperatures last too long, it will die. Because reefs also protect coastlines from storms and support fishing communities, their decline is not only an environmental problem but an economic one.

1. What surprising contrast does the first sentence describe?
2. How are coral reefs built?
3. What is coral bleaching, and what causes it?
4. What does “expel” mean?
5. Why does the writer call the decline of reefs “an economic” problem too?

Answers to passage 7

1. Reefs cover a tiny part of the ocean floor but are home to about a quarter of marine species. (Factual.)
2. Tiny animals called polyps take calcium from seawater to form hard skeletons, which build up over thousands of years. (Factual.)
3. When the water is too warm, corals push out the algae that feed and colour them, and turn white. (Factual.)
4. To force out or push out. (Vocabulary from context.)
5. Reefs protect coastlines from storms and support fishing communities, so losing them costs money and livelihoods. (Inference from the last sentence.)

Passage 8: The value of boredom

We have become very good at avoiding boredom. A queue, a bus journey or a few spare minutes can be filled instantly with a phone. Yet some psychologists argue that boredom has a purpose. It is an uncomfortable signal that what we are doing is not satisfying, and that discomfort pushes us to look for something better: a new idea, a new activity, a new goal. Some studies have found that people who first completed a dull task produced more creative ideas afterwards than people who had not been bored. If every empty moment is filled, the signal never has a chance to work. None of this means that we should seek out tedium. But it may mean that a little boredom, left alone, is less a problem to be solved than an opportunity.

1. According to the passage, how do people usually avoid boredom now?
2. What purpose do some psychologists think boredom has?
3. What did the studies find?
4. Find a word in the passage that means “boredom” or “dullness”.
5. What is the writer’s attitude to boredom? Choose one: (a) it should be avoided; (b) it should be sought out; (c) it can be useful in small amounts.

Answers to passage 8

1. By filling spare moments with a phone. (Factual.)
2. It signals that what we are doing is not satisfying and pushes us to find something better, such as a new idea or goal. (Factual.)
3. People who first did a dull task produced more creative ideas afterwards than people who had not been bored. (Factual.)
4. Tedium. (Vocabulary.)
5. (c): it can be useful in small amounts. The writer says we should not seek it out, but that a little boredom “left alone” is an opportunity. (Tone and purpose.)

Reading on the Duolingo English Test

The Duolingo English Test tests this skill in Interactive Reading: two passages, each followed by several tasks that are reading comprehension in a new form.

The method above works there too, with one change: there is a timer, so read the question before you hunt for the answer. Practise with the reading section test, which includes Interactive Reading, or a full mock test. For gap-filling inside a passage, see the cloze test guide, and for putting a passage in your own words, how to write a summary.

Questions people ask

What is an unseen passage?

A piece of text you have not read before, followed by questions that test whether you understood it. Schools in India call it an unseen passage; elsewhere it is called reading comprehension. You must answer from the passage alone, not from what you already know.

How do I answer unseen passage questions?

Read the questions first, read the passage once for the main idea and again for detail, underline the line that answers each question, and answer in your own words in complete sentences. For vocabulary questions, check your answer by putting it back into the sentence.

What is the difference between an unseen passage and a comprehension passage?

None in practice: both are a text with questions that test understanding. “Unseen” stresses that you have not studied the text beforehand, which is the point: the exercise tests reading skill, not memory. Indian school exams tend to say “unseen passage”, while other syllabuses say “reading comprehension”; the skills and question types are the same.

How can I improve my reading comprehension?

Read every day at a level just above your comfort zone, ask yourself what each paragraph is about as you go, summarise the text in two sentences when you finish, and practise passages with questions under time. Building vocabulary helps most, because unknown words are the main cause of misunderstanding.

How do I find the main idea of a passage?

Ask what every paragraph has in common. The main idea is often in the first or last sentence, but not always; check that your answer covers the whole text, not one detail. A good test: could your sentence be the passage’s title?

How do I answer inference questions?

Find the clues in the text (actions, word choices, results) and say what they suggest, then give the clue as your reason. Inference answers are not stated directly, but they must still be based on the passage, not on guesses.

How do I answer vocabulary questions in a comprehension passage?

Read the whole sentence, and the one before and after, and work out what the word must mean there. Then replace the word with your answer and read the sentence again; if it still makes sense, you are right. The context meaning can differ from the first dictionary meaning.

Should I copy sentences from the passage in my answers?

Usually not. Most exams reward answers in your own words, and copying a whole sentence can include information the question did not ask for. Quote only when the question asks for a word or phrase from the passage. Short, precise answers that show you understood score better than long copied ones.

How do I choose a title for a passage?

Make it cover the main idea of the whole passage, keep it short (two to six words) and make it specific: “The Importance of Sleep” is better than “Sleep” or “Teenagers and Phones”. Avoid a title that matches only one paragraph.

How much time should I spend on a reading comprehension passage?

Roughly a minute per mark, plus time to read. For a 10-mark passage, about two minutes reading, eight answering and a minute checking. On timed computer tests, read the question first and then scan for the answer. Leave the title question until last, after you understand the whole passage.

What are reading comprehension passages for adults?

Passages on adult topics such as work, health, science, history and society, usually at B2 level or above, with questions on inference, tone and purpose as well as facts. Passages 6 to 8 on this page are at that level.

How is reading comprehension tested on the Duolingo English Test?

In Interactive Reading: two passages, each with tasks that ask you to complete sentences, complete the passage, highlight the answer to a question, identify the main idea of a paragraph and choose a title. It feeds the Reading, Literacy and Comprehension subscores.

Where can I practise more reading comprehension?

Read short articles daily and answer your own questions about them, use graded readers at your level, and practise timed passages. For the Duolingo English Test, the reading section test includes Interactive Reading under the real timer. The eight passages on this page, with explained answers, are a good place to start.

What are the common mistakes in unseen passages?

Answering from general knowledge instead of the passage, answering a different question from the one asked, copying long sentences, choosing a title that fits only one paragraph, and running out of time on the last questions. Most can be avoided by underlining the key words in each question before you look back at the passage.

How many questions are usually asked on a comprehension passage?

In school exams, usually five to eight: a few factual questions, one or two inference questions, a vocabulary task and often a title. The passages on this page have five each, covering all those kinds. Computer-based tests often ask fewer questions per passage but set a strict time limit for each.

Quick reference: Unseen Passage Practice at a glance

Walk into the DET already knowing the room.

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