Grade 8 Non-Textual Reading Comprehension

Passage 1

 TINY AIR PARTICLES CAN CAUSE HEART ATTACK (8M)

High levels of air pollution can trigger heart attacks in at – risk people exposed for even a short time, a study has found. Researchers who interviewed 772 Boston – area patients about 4 days after their attacks found that the onset of symptoms correlated with times of high daily air pollution. Tiny, invisible particles have long been thought to cause long – term cardiovascular diseases. The new study is the first to examine short – term effects on the heart, said senior author Dr. Murray Mittleman, Director of Cardiovascular Epidemiology at Boston‟s Beth Israel Deacomess Medical Centre. The study of 489 men and 283 women, conducted from January 1995 to May 1996, defined at – risk people as obese, inactive or with a history of heart problems. It appears in Circulation, Journal of the American Heart Association.

(i) Heart attacks can be caused by

a) Air pollution b) High levels of air pollution c) Low levels of air pollution d) Water

pollution

(ii) At – risk people should not be exposed to air pollution even for a _____

a) Day b) Week c) Month d) Short time

(iii) Researchers interviewed ________

a) 772 people b) 772 patients c) 772 residents d) 772 senior citizens

(iv) The onset of symptoms correlated with times of __________

a) High annual air pollution

b) Low daily air pollution

c) High daily air pollution

d) Medium daily air pollution

(v) The new study focuses on _______

a) Tiny invisible particles.

b) Short term effects on the heart

c) Long term effects on the heart.

d) Long term cardiovascular diseases

(vi) The above articles appeared in __________

a) Journal of the British Heart Association

b) News paper

c) Diary entry

d) Journal of the American Heart Association

(vii) Write antonym of “active‟

a) Mobile

b) Energetic

c) old

d) Inactive

(viii) Which part of speech is the heart?

a) Noun

b) Verb

c) Adjective

d) None of the above

Answers

(i) b) high levels of air pollution

(ii) d) short time

(iii) b) 772 patients

(iv) c) high daily air pollution

(v) b) Short term effects on the heart

(vi) d) Journal of the American Heart Association

(vii) d) inactive

(viii) a) noun

Passage 2

Failure and success are the ways of life. Constant efforts despite initial setbacks have brought us from the chrysalis of failures into bright opportunities of triumphs. The conquest of Everest is a fitting example. Success eluded men for nearly 25 years. The leader of an unsuccessful expedition stated “Everest cannot add to its height, but the spirit of man heightens even under repulsion.” Subsequent conquest of Everest has proved the truth of this. Indeed every new born day is in itself an opportunity teeming with splendid chances for those who are alert, wide awake and aspiring.

1. What are the ways of life?

2. According to the writer, what does the conquest of Everest prove?

3. How many years did it take man to overcome Mount Everest?

4. For whom is every new day an opportunity?

5. In this passage “chrysalis of failures” means that

(a) Failure involves a closed situation from which one cannot escape.

(b) Failure can be compared to the pupa of the gold colored butterflies.

(c) Failure is a transitional state.

(d) As an insect, it emerges in a different shape from chrysalis, so a human beingchanges after every failure.

6. The very style of the prose suggests that the writer intends the last sentence of the passage to be.

(a) Poetic

(b) Inspiring

(c) Vague

(d) Contradictory to the first sentence of the passage.

7. The expression “teeming with” in the passage can be replaced by

(a) Multiplying

(b) Abounding

(c) Fruitful

(d) Promising

8. Antonym of ‘breakthrough’ in the passage is

(a) Setback

(b) Opportunity

(c) Success

(d) Conquest

Answer key

1. Failure and success

2. failures into bright opportunity of triumphs

3. 25 years

4. who are alert, wide awake and aspiring

5. d, 6 b, 7 b, 8 a

Passage 3

Ganesh Chaturthi, the festival was once an affair confined to individual homes. Today, in Mumbai it provides competition for rival sponsors as the size of the idols grows in height and girth every year and the festivities are held with great gusto and noise during Dussehra , Mumbai reverberates to the beat of drums . Thousands of young people spend nights dancing to the various versions of the traditional Gujarati ‘garba’ dance – including the mutant – ‘’’disco garba’’.

It is of those strange twists of irony that dance , which actually liberated women and gave them a legitimate reason to dance their hearts out , has now become a highly sponsored event in which there is no place for traditional ‘garba’ dancers. In the past ,the dancing was free of both self consciousness, as it was a women’s dance and commenced as it was held in the courtyard . Thus each year something precious is being lost – and the worst part of it is that the majority of us are not even aware of it.

1) Why is the present time called the age of sponsorship?

2) What role did Garba play in the lives of women in the past?

3) What is the aim of Garba in modern times?

4) When does Mumbai reverberate with the beat of drums?

5) Today Ganesh chaturthi is a festival that

a) is confined to individual homes

b) provides an opportunity for sponsors to invest money

c) is held with great fanfare

d) has a few sponsors

6) ‘Mutant’ in para 4 means

a) crazy

b) unimaginable

c) dangerous

d) adapted or changed

7) According to the author the greatest tragedy of sponsorship is

a) the loss of money

b)the focus on unnecessary expenditure

c)the common man is being duped

d)the loss of the essence of our culture without realizing it

8) Opposite of “gusto and noise” is :

a) enthusiastically

b) decently

c) moderately

d) dull and distasteful

Answer

1. So many sponsors are there for rivalries.

2. liberated women and gave them a legitimate reason to dance their hearts out.

3. dance for the sake of money/ investment.

4. at the time of Dussehra

5. b) provides an opportunity for sponsors to invest money.

6. d) adapted or changed.

7. d) the loss of the essence of our culture without realizing it.

8. d) dull and distasteful

Passage 4

Bad breath is an embarrassing problem, not only for the patient, but also for those around him. It gives rise to Inferiority complex. The common oral causes of bad breath are decayed teeth, inflammation of the gums or inflammation of the mouth and tongue. Irregular and improper brushing and a high-sweet diet also caused bad breath. It is necessary to have a regular dental check-up to prevent the formation of plague: a sticky coat produced by bacteria on the teeth, which irritates the gums, makes them spongy and causes them to bleed. Visit your dentist regularly for removal of plague. Brush your teeth two times a day. Range your mouth with an antiseptic lotion or salt water to avoid bad breath. Avoid eating sweets, toffees and chocolates in large quantities.

Rinse your mouth well after you eat sweets. To avoid getting spongy gums (bleeding gums), eat food that is rich in vitamin C. For example, Amla, tomato, sweet lime and tamarind must be taken.

a) State any one cause of bad breath.

b) What should we avoid eating in large quantities to keep our teeth healthy?

c) How many times do we must brush our teeth in a day?

d) Why should one visit a Dentist regularly?

e) Find out synonyms of “essential‟ from the passage.

f) What is adverb of the word “regular”

Answers

a) One cause of bad breath mentioned in the passage is a high-sweet diet.

b) To keep our teeth healthy, we should avoid eating sweets, toffees, and chocolates in large quantities.

c) The passage recommends brushing your teeth two times a day.

d) One should visit a dentist regularly to prevent the formation of plaque, which is a sticky coat produced by bacteria on the teeth that can irritate the gums, make them spongy, and cause them to bleed.

e) Synonyms for "essential" in the passage could include crucial, necessary, or vital.

f) The adverb form of the word "regular" is "regularly."