Daily Reads-44 (Level-1)

From Where Should I Practice Reading Comprehension?

Are you also perplexed by this question? Are you looking for the right source to practice reading comprehension? Well, Congrats! You have come to the right destination. In this series of articles called ‘Daily Reads’ we provide you articles from different backgrounds and sources to help you practice reading comprehension for any competitive exam. The key to solving reading comprehensions correctly and quickly is to practice as many Reading Comprehensions as you can. This also means that to practice reading comprehension, you must try to read a lot and any article that you read or come across can be treated as a Reading Comprehension for Practice. The thing you must be thinking now is, how? When we say treat each article as a Practice Reading Comprehension, we mean that ask a question to yourself, like , What is the Main idea of this Passage, what is the tone of the author ,etc. When you start analyzing each article you read as a Practice Reading Comprehension your reading skills will definitely improve. So, here you go, following are the links and the summary of the articles:

Reading Suggestion-1

Article Name: We must worry about State finances
Author Name: RK Pattnaik/Jagdish Rattanani
Source: The Hindu
Category: Business Line

Summary for this article:

The author talks about the annual study of the state budgets done by the RBI. The outcome of this study has put forth three important factors that will shape up the state finances in the mid-term future. First – GST bill, second – delegation of power from center to states and third – adherence to rule-based fiscal policy.

The study shows that the states’ fiscal position has deteriorated in the last five years as compared to the previous quinquennium (period of 5 years). This has happened partly because of increase in loans and borrowings under Ujjwal Discoms Assurance Yojana, a scheme to uplift power distribution companies (discoms) in the states by lending them necessary finances.

The solution to this problem as per the author lies in the effectiveness of GST and voluntary compliance. The States should make necessary efforts to enhance their tax and non-tax revenues. Along with that efficient delivery of services and commercial principle pricing of commercial goods also assume critical importance.

Words to learn from this article:

Quinquennium: period of five years
Fiscal deficit: A fiscal deficit occurs when a government’s total expenditures exceed the revenue that it generates, excluding money from borrowings.
Perusal: to read through something specially to find the part you are most interested in

Reading Suggestion-1: Click to read full article

Reading Suggestion-2

Article Name: Beyond the language conflict: the need for a clear language policy
Author Name: D.ShyamBabu
Source: The Hindu
Category: Politics

Summary for this article:

India being a diverse nation, has diverse languages being spoken by people belonging to different cultures and hence the language policy argument is never a surprise.

In this article the writer stresses on the importance of having a clear language policy by re-looking at its language policy under Part XVII which states the replacement of English to Hindi language at the national level and with other languages in the Right schedule in their respective states.

He further ends up giving his opinion on the matter – The nation must adopt mother tongue plus English, with Hindi accorded a pride of place for ceremonial occasions at national and international levels

Words to learn from this article:

Dispensation: exemption from something
Efficacy: the capability to produce an intended result
Muddle: In a confused state
Reinvent the wheel : wasting one’s time in order to invent or create something that already exists

Reading Suggestion-2: Click to read full article

Reading Suggestion-3

Article Name: On human shields and questions that won’t go away
Author Name: Shiv Vishwanathan
Source: The Hindu
Category: Ethics and Politics

Summary for this article:

The Major Gogoi incident that saw arguments and debates across all the news channels witnessing a lot of noise across the nation is the very subject of this article.

The writer questions on the ethical nature of the entire incident. The honouring of Major Gogoi at a time when the case hearing still needs to be done makes it clear where our Army stands.

The entire article while focussing on this major issue of using a human shield to save lives by Major Gogoi also expresses the author’s take on the incident.

Words to learn from this article:

Archetypal: something original
Perpetrated: to commit something
Jingoism: Extreme Patriotism
Hagiography: biography of saints
Proscription: Forbid to do something

Reading Suggestion-3: Click to read full article

Practice Reading Comprehension: What should you keep in mind?

To sum up, we can say that, the best way to do Practice Reading Comprehension is by reading and you should always strive to maintain variety in your reading. It is not advisable to read the same author or the same kind of news every time. Another important point related to practice reading comprehension is that you should keep noting down the words you don’t understand in the passage and then search their meaning.