Daily Reads-44 (Level-2)

Reading Comprehension Sources Online

One change that has come about with the advent of technology is that, most competitive exams are now online and our experience with a lot of students shows that attempting a Reading Comprehension Online is a tough feat to master. This section called ‘Daily Reads’ aims to provide to you relevant and challenging sources of Reading Comprehension Online to help you become familiar and used to attempting reading comprehensions online. We provide you articles from various online sources that you can read and understand. Along with this, we have also provided the meaning of the difficult words that you will come across while reading this online article.

A fun fact for you: A lot of RC questions in many competitive exams are taken from these various online sources of Reading Comprehension mentioned in this series of articles. Especially, from international publications and magazines. The good part is that you can easily access these Reading Comprehensions online and try to understand them to improve your reading skills. So check out these articles below:

Reading Suggestion-1

Article Name: How trees can teach us?
Author Name: Patrick Barkham
Source: The Guardian
Category: Environment

Summary for this article:

The author basically talks in favour of saving trees and how one can relate so much to a tree. He talks about trees that were planted across a street in commemoration of pupils who dies in WW I. When you touch them you sense a feeling of intimacy. The author also judged a contest in the city where residents nominated various trees. He finds it very amusing and joyful. Many tree-fellers are realizing the value of a tree; citizens in many communities are also raising funds in order to plant hundreds of trees. Author says, “The bonds we form with them can cause us to give thanks, and make the most of our own, much shorter, lives”.
The above line encapsulates the theme of the article and should help you identify what you are about to read.

Words to learn from this article:

Foliage: plants leaves collectively
Tree feller: One who cuts trees
Luminaries: leader, a person who inspires others
Reprieve: an official order that delays or stops a punishment

Reading Suggestion-1: Click to read full article

Reading Suggestion-2

Article Name: The case against subsidizing Housing debt
Author Name: Jeffrey Frankel
Source: Project Syndicate
Category: Economy

Summary for this article:

As per the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, American consumer debt for the time exceeded its previous peak, 3rd Qtr of 2008, just as the global financial crisis erupted. This concludes that American households don’t save enough. Some people say Asians have saving factors while Americans have spending factors imbibed in them. They relate this pattern to the cultural background but economists argue on this. US policy is designed to encourage to Americans to take as much housing debt as possible.

Author says that owning a home is deeply engraved in American culture. But renting a home is not bad either. Buying a house is typically a consequence, not a cause, of a family’s prosperity. Home ownership led to citizens not being able to move out of their cities for better jobs during recession, just because they were unable to sell their houses.

Words to learn from this article:

Schoolmarmish: like a school teacher
Curtail : impose a restriction on

Reading Suggestion-2: Click to read full article

Reading Suggestion-3

Article Name: Boom
Author Name: Peter Aurango
Source:Medium
Category: Life

Summary for this article:

In this article, the writer talks about how his generation, the generation that was born between the 1946-1964, called the baby boomers hadn’t done much to change the world though they were the vibrant and privileged lot when compared to their previous generations.
He says that they were so much lost in pleasures that they ended up becoming the lost generation.
They believed in progress, but failed to hold on to opportunities. Though they appreciated the idea of a developed, changed and a better world they just ended up wallowing in it without securing the future.

They made a lot of noise in the 1970s but only little remains of that. Today for the many baby boomers still alive, Peter leaves a hope that though they hadn’t done much then, they could still do so much for it’s never too late to do the right thing.

Words to learn from this article:

Baby boomer – the generation comprising of people who were born post World War II that saw an increase in the birth rates
Silent Generation: The generation that lived through the Great depression
Greatest generation: This term was coined by Tom Brokaw. It refers to the generation that suffered through the great depression and fought in World War II.
Hedonistic: Someone who believes that happiness is the primary goal in life