Reading Comprehension

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A comprehension passage carried five of the twenty-five English marks in the 2022 Constable paper — a fifth of the section from a single piece of text. These are the most reliable marks in the whole paper, because every answer is sitting in front of you. Nothing has to be recalled.

Method

1. Read the questions first. You then read the passage knowing what to look for.

2. Read the passage once at normal speed. Do not stop at unfamiliar words.

3. For each question, find the sentence that contains the answer and re-read it fully.

4. Answer only from the passage — never from what you already know about the topic.

The rule that decides most questions. If a statement is true in the world but not stated in the passage, it is wrong. Comprehension tests reading, not general knowledge, and passages on familiar topics are where candidates most often answer from memory instead of from the text.

Watch the Exact Words

Passage says	Option says	Verdict
more than 1,40,000	only 1,40,000	Wrong — "only" caps the number
many	all	Wrong — overstated
may lead to	leads to	Wrong — certainty added
survivors	relatives of the dead	Wrong — different group

Worked Example from a Real Paper

The passage below appeared in the TS Police Constable 2022 paper, followed by five questions. Read it once, then work through the solutions.

Ms. Yanada recalls all too clearly that mid-summer day in 1945 when US warplanes dropped an atomic bomb in Hiroshima. A second atom bomb was dropped by the USA on the southwestern city of Nagasaki three days later, forcing Japan to surrender to the allied forces and bringing the Pacific war to an end. More than 1,40,000 people were killed instantly after the nuclear blasts and many more died in the months and years after. Victims continue to die each year from cancer and radiation-linked illnesses. Today Ms. Yanada is part of a group called Japan Confederation of A & H Bomb Sufferers, made up of survivors like her struggling for a fair deal in life. In Japan, a vast number of people are still lobbying the government to give them the status they have been denied for so long.

TS Police Constable 2022 — Q21

The US dropped ______ on Hiroshima. (one bomb / two bombs / three bombs / four bombs)

The passage says one bomb fell on Hiroshima and "a second atom bomb" on Nagasaki.
Answer: one bomb.
The trap: two bombs were dropped in total, and "two bombs" is offered for anyone who skims. The question asks specifically about Hiroshima.

TS Police Constable 2022 — Q22

______ people were killed instantly after the nuclear bomb blast. (Only 1,40,000 / More than 1,40,000 / Less than 1,40,000 / None of the above)

The passage states "More than 1,40,000 people were killed instantly".
Answer: More than 1,40,000.
Note how narrow the difference is: the number is identical in three options and only the qualifier changes. Questions built on "only", "more than" and "less than" are testing whether you re-read the sentence.

TS Police Constable 2022 — Q23

The Japan Confederation of A & H Bomb Sufferers is made up of …

The passage describes the group as "made up of survivors like her".
Answer: survivors of the nuclear bomb blast.
The trap: "relatives of the people dead in the blast" is plausible for such an organisation, but the passage does not say it. Plausibility is not evidence.

TS Police Constable 2022 — Q24

Japan was forced to surrender after the ______ bomb. (first / second / third / fourth)

The second bomb on Nagasaki is what "forc[ed] Japan to surrender to the allied forces".
Answer: second.

TS Police Constable 2022 — Q25

Victims of the atom bomb blast in Japan continue to die of …

The passage names both causes: "cancer and radiation-linked illnesses".
Answer: Both cancer and radiation linked diseases.
Method: when the text lists two things joined by "and", check whether a combined option exists before picking either one alone. Options naming just one cause are there for partial readers.

Four of these five answers hinge on a single word — Hiroshima versus Nagasaki, "more than" versus "only", survivors versus relatives, and "and" versus "or". Comprehension questions are won by slowing down on the one sentence that matters, not by reading the passage faster.

Full paper: TS Police Constable 2022 — Set A
Also see: Synonyms & Antonyms · Tenses