Reading Comprehension Questions for SSC CGL (with Answers)
30 Reading Comprehension MCQs from the English Comprehension section, with answers and short explanations.
Score: 0 / 0
Q1. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Economists have long warned against the fallacy of composition: the assumption that what is true for a part must be true for the whole. A single household that cuts its spending during hard times acts sensibly, building a cushion against misfortune. But if every household does the same at once, shops sell less, factories cut production and workers lose their jobs. Incomes fall, and the very savings people hoped to accumulate shrink. Thus a virtue at the individual level can become a vice at the collective level. This paradox explains why governments often increase their own spending precisely when private citizens are tightening their belts.
Question: As used in the passage, the word 'cushion' refers to:
Show answer
Answer: C. a reserve that softens the impact of hardship
Here 'cushion' is used figuratively for savings that protect a household from the full impact of hard times.
Q2. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: When a species is declared endangered, the first instinct is to fence off its habitat and keep people out. This fortress model of conservation has saved some animals, but often at a heavy human cost. Communities that had lived alongside forests for generations found themselves evicted, branded as trespassers on land their ancestors had tended. Resentful and impoverished, some turned to the very poachers the fences were meant to exclude. Increasingly, conservationists acknowledge that protection works best when local people are partners rather than obstacles, when they share in the benefits of tourism, help monitor wildlife and have a stake in the forest's survival.
Question: The author's attitude towards the 'fortress model' of conservation is:
Show answer
Answer: C. critical, while acknowledging that it has had some success
The author admits it 'has saved some animals' but criticises its heavy human cost, so the attitude is critical yet not wholly dismissive.
Q3. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: When a species is declared endangered, the first instinct is to fence off its habitat and keep people out. This fortress model of conservation has saved some animals, but often at a heavy human cost. Communities that had lived alongside forests for generations found themselves evicted, branded as trespassers on land their ancestors had tended. Resentful and impoverished, some turned to the very poachers the fences were meant to exclude. Increasingly, conservationists acknowledge that protection works best when local people are partners rather than obstacles, when they share in the benefits of tourism, help monitor wildlife and have a stake in the forest's survival.
Question: Why, according to the passage, did some evicted villagers turn to poachers?
Show answer
Answer: A. Eviction had left them resentful and poor, with no stake in protecting wildlife
The passage links their turn to poachers to being 'resentful and impoverished' after eviction; nothing in it supports the other options.
Q4. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Satire has always walked a fine line between entertainment and subversion. By exaggerating the follies of the powerful, the satirist invites laughter, but the laughter is rarely innocent: it strips authority of its solemnity and exposes pretension to ridicule. It is no accident that autocrats, who can tolerate open criticism more easily than mockery, have so often banned cartoons and jailed comedians. A reasoned argument can be refuted; a joke that has captured the public imagination cannot. Yet satire's power is also its limitation. Because it depends on a shared sense of absurdity, it loses its bite in societies too cynical to be shocked by anything.
Question: According to the passage, autocrats fear satire more than reasoned criticism because:
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Answer: C. a joke that has caught the public imagination cannot be refuted
The passage states that 'a reasoned argument can be refuted; a joke that has captured the public imagination cannot', which is why mockery is more threatening.
Q5. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: In an age that prizes constant connectivity, solitude is often mistaken for loneliness. Yet the two are fundamentally different. Loneliness is a painful sense of disconnection imposed upon us; solitude is a state we choose, in which the mind, freed from the clamour of notifications and opinions, can turn inward. Many of history's most original thinkers deliberately sought such retreats, not to escape the world but to understand it better. Today, however, the smartphone ensures that we are never truly alone, and the capacity for sustained reflection is quietly eroding. To reclaim it, we need not abandon technology altogether; we need only relearn the lost art of being undisturbed.
Question: The author's attitude towards technology is best described as:
Show answer
Answer: A. balanced, noting its costs without calling for its rejection
The author criticises the effect of smartphones on reflection but states 'we need not abandon technology altogether', showing a balanced view.
Q6. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Satire has always walked a fine line between entertainment and subversion. By exaggerating the follies of the powerful, the satirist invites laughter, but the laughter is rarely innocent: it strips authority of its solemnity and exposes pretension to ridicule. It is no accident that autocrats, who can tolerate open criticism more easily than mockery, have so often banned cartoons and jailed comedians. A reasoned argument can be refuted; a joke that has captured the public imagination cannot. Yet satire's power is also its limitation. Because it depends on a shared sense of absurdity, it loses its bite in societies too cynical to be shocked by anything.
Question: The tone of the passage is best described as:
Show answer
Answer: B. analytical
The author calmly examines how satire works, why it threatens autocrats and where it fails, an analytical tone. It is neither jokey, sorrowful nor flattering.
Q7. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Satire has always walked a fine line between entertainment and subversion. By exaggerating the follies of the powerful, the satirist invites laughter, but the laughter is rarely innocent: it strips authority of its solemnity and exposes pretension to ridicule. It is no accident that autocrats, who can tolerate open criticism more easily than mockery, have so often banned cartoons and jailed comedians. A reasoned argument can be refuted; a joke that has captured the public imagination cannot. Yet satire's power is also its limitation. Because it depends on a shared sense of absurdity, it loses its bite in societies too cynical to be shocked by anything.
Question: As used in the passage, the word 'subversion' most nearly means:
Show answer
Answer: D. undermining of established authority
'Subversion' means the undermining of the power and authority of an established system, which is what satire is described as doing.
Q8. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Economists have long warned against the fallacy of composition: the assumption that what is true for a part must be true for the whole. A single household that cuts its spending during hard times acts sensibly, building a cushion against misfortune. But if every household does the same at once, shops sell less, factories cut production and workers lose their jobs. Incomes fall, and the very savings people hoped to accumulate shrink. Thus a virtue at the individual level can become a vice at the collective level. This paradox explains why governments often increase their own spending precisely when private citizens are tightening their belts.
Question: The central point of the passage is that:
Show answer
Answer: C. behaviour that is sensible for one individual can harm the economy when everyone adopts it
The passage illustrates the fallacy of composition: individual saving is prudent, but collective saving reduces demand, jobs and incomes.
Q9. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: We like to think of memory as a faithful recording, a video we can replay at will. Research suggests otherwise. Each time we recall an event, the brain reconstructs it, filling gaps with assumptions, later knowledge and even suggestions from others. The memory is then stored anew, subtly altered. This is why eyewitnesses who are entirely sincere can nonetheless be entirely wrong, and why two siblings may remember the same childhood holiday in irreconcilable ways. Far from being a flaw, this malleability may serve a purpose: a memory that updates itself helps us adapt to a changing world, even if it sacrifices a measure of accuracy.
Question: The passage is chiefly concerned with:
Show answer
Answer: B. the reconstructive and changeable nature of memory
The passage explains that memories are rebuilt and altered each time they are recalled; eyewitnesses and siblings are merely examples.
Q10. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: We like to think of memory as a faithful recording, a video we can replay at will. Research suggests otherwise. Each time we recall an event, the brain reconstructs it, filling gaps with assumptions, later knowledge and even suggestions from others. The memory is then stored anew, subtly altered. This is why eyewitnesses who are entirely sincere can nonetheless be entirely wrong, and why two siblings may remember the same childhood holiday in irreconcilable ways. Far from being a flaw, this malleability may serve a purpose: a memory that updates itself helps us adapt to a changing world, even if it sacrifices a measure of accuracy.
Question: With which of the following statements would the author most likely agree?
Show answer
Answer: C. A sincere eyewitness may still give an inaccurate account
The passage says sincere eyewitnesses 'can nonetheless be entirely wrong'. It contradicts the other statements: memories are re-stored, inaccuracy need not mean lying, and malleability may help us adapt.
Q11. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Economists have long warned against the fallacy of composition: the assumption that what is true for a part must be true for the whole. A single household that cuts its spending during hard times acts sensibly, building a cushion against misfortune. But if every household does the same at once, shops sell less, factories cut production and workers lose their jobs. Incomes fall, and the very savings people hoped to accumulate shrink. Thus a virtue at the individual level can become a vice at the collective level. This paradox explains why governments often increase their own spending precisely when private citizens are tightening their belts.
Question: It can be inferred that governments increase their spending during downturns in order to:
Show answer
Answer: A. make up for the fall in private demand
When private households cut spending, demand falls; government spending compensates for that shortfall, preventing the chain of lost sales and jobs.
Q12. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: We like to think of memory as a faithful recording, a video we can replay at will. Research suggests otherwise. Each time we recall an event, the brain reconstructs it, filling gaps with assumptions, later knowledge and even suggestions from others. The memory is then stored anew, subtly altered. This is why eyewitnesses who are entirely sincere can nonetheless be entirely wrong, and why two siblings may remember the same childhood holiday in irreconcilable ways. Far from being a flaw, this malleability may serve a purpose: a memory that updates itself helps us adapt to a changing world, even if it sacrifices a measure of accuracy.
Question: As used in the passage, the word 'malleability' means:
Show answer
Answer: C. capacity to be reshaped
'Malleability' means the quality of being easily shaped or altered; here it refers to memory's tendency to be modified each time it is recalled.
Q13. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: When a species is declared endangered, the first instinct is to fence off its habitat and keep people out. This fortress model of conservation has saved some animals, but often at a heavy human cost. Communities that had lived alongside forests for generations found themselves evicted, branded as trespassers on land their ancestors had tended. Resentful and impoverished, some turned to the very poachers the fences were meant to exclude. Increasingly, conservationists acknowledge that protection works best when local people are partners rather than obstacles, when they share in the benefits of tourism, help monitor wildlife and have a stake in the forest's survival.
Question: The author suggests that the most effective conservation:
Show answer
Answer: C. treats local communities as partners with a stake in the forest
The last sentence states that protection works best when local people are partners who benefit from and help protect the forest.
Q14. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: In an age that prizes constant connectivity, solitude is often mistaken for loneliness. Yet the two are fundamentally different. Loneliness is a painful sense of disconnection imposed upon us; solitude is a state we choose, in which the mind, freed from the clamour of notifications and opinions, can turn inward. Many of history's most original thinkers deliberately sought such retreats, not to escape the world but to understand it better. Today, however, the smartphone ensures that we are never truly alone, and the capacity for sustained reflection is quietly eroding. To reclaim it, we need not abandon technology altogether; we need only relearn the lost art of being undisturbed.
Question: As used in the passage, the word 'clamour' most nearly means:
Show answer
Answer: B. a loud and insistent din
'Clamour' means loud, persistent noise or demands; here it describes the constant intrusion of notifications and opinions.
Q15. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: In an age that prizes constant connectivity, solitude is often mistaken for loneliness. Yet the two are fundamentally different. Loneliness is a painful sense of disconnection imposed upon us; solitude is a state we choose, in which the mind, freed from the clamour of notifications and opinions, can turn inward. Many of history's most original thinkers deliberately sought such retreats, not to escape the world but to understand it better. Today, however, the smartphone ensures that we are never truly alone, and the capacity for sustained reflection is quietly eroding. To reclaim it, we need not abandon technology altogether; we need only relearn the lost art of being undisturbed.
Question: The passage primarily argues that:
Show answer
Answer: D. solitude is a valuable, chosen state that constant connectivity is threatening
The author distinguishes chosen solitude from imposed loneliness, praises solitude's value, and warns that smartphones are eroding it. The passage explicitly says we need not abandon technology.
Q16. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: When antibiotics were introduced in the 1940s, they were hailed as miracle drugs, and diseases that had once been death sentences became easily curable. Yet even Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, warned that misuse would breed resistant microbes. His warning has proved prophetic. Every time an antibiotic is taken unnecessarily, or a course is abandoned halfway, the hardiest bacteria survive and multiply. The routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock to speed their growth has accelerated this process. Today some infections resist almost every available drug, and the pipeline of new antibiotics has slowed to a trickle because such drugs offer pharmaceutical companies meagre profits. Unless usage is curbed, medicine risks returning to a pre-antibiotic age.
Question: According to the passage, why has the development of new antibiotics slowed down?
Show answer
Answer: D. Such drugs are not commercially rewarding for pharmaceutical companies.
The passage states that the pipeline has slowed 'because such drugs offer pharmaceutical companies meagre profits', i.e. they are not commercially rewarding.
Q17. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: The fashion industry has discovered speed. Collections that once changed twice a year now arrive in stores every few weeks, and garments are priced so low that many are worn only a handful of times before being discarded. The hidden costs of this abundance are considerable. Textile dyeing pollutes rivers, synthetic fibres shed microplastics with every wash, and the workers who stitch these clothes often labour for paltry wages in unsafe conditions. Some consumers have begun to resist, buying fewer but more durable clothes, repairing rather than replacing, and seeking out traditional handloom weavers. Such choices will not transform the industry overnight, but they signal a welcome shift away from treating clothing as disposable.
Question: What does the author mean by saying that 'the fashion industry has discovered speed'?
Show answer
Answer: D. Clothing is now designed, sold and discarded far more rapidly than before.
The next sentence explains that collections now change every few weeks instead of twice a year and clothes are quickly discarded, so 'speed' refers to the rapid cycle of producing, buying and discarding clothes.
Q18. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: The fashion industry has discovered speed. Collections that once changed twice a year now arrive in stores every few weeks, and garments are priced so low that many are worn only a handful of times before being discarded. The hidden costs of this abundance are considerable. Textile dyeing pollutes rivers, synthetic fibres shed microplastics with every wash, and the workers who stitch these clothes often labour for paltry wages in unsafe conditions. Some consumers have begun to resist, buying fewer but more durable clothes, repairing rather than replacing, and seeking out traditional handloom weavers. Such choices will not transform the industry overnight, but they signal a welcome shift away from treating clothing as disposable.
Question: Which of the following best captures the main idea of the passage?
Show answer
Answer: D. The cheapness of fast fashion conceals serious environmental and human costs, which some consumers are beginning to resist.
The passage describes the 'hidden costs' of fast fashion (pollution and poor labour conditions) and the emerging resistance of some consumers. It explicitly says the industry will not be transformed overnight.
Q19. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Translation is often imagined as a mechanical exchange of words, as though every term in one language had an exact twin in another. Any seasoned translator knows otherwise. Words carry histories, connotations and rhythms that refuse to travel intact. A pun that delights readers in Bengali may fall flat in French; a term of respect in Japanese may have no equivalent at all. The translator must therefore make choices, sacrificing literal accuracy here to preserve tone there. Far from being a lesser, derivative art, translation demands the sensibility of a writer and the scruples of a scholar. It is perhaps the closest reading a text can ever receive.
Question: Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?
Show answer
Answer: D. Translation is a demanding, creative craft rather than a mechanical substitution of words.
The author rejects the view of translation as mechanical word-exchange and argues that it requires judgement, a writer's sensibility and a scholar's care. The other options are either details or contrary to the passage.
Q20. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Cities are often several degrees warmer than the countryside around them, a phenomenon known as the urban heat island. Concrete and asphalt absorb sunlight by day and release it slowly through the night, while the scarcity of trees deprives streets of shade and of the cooling effect of evaporation. Air-conditioners, ironically, worsen the problem by pumping yet more heat outdoors. The consequences are not merely uncomfortable: heatwaves in dense neighbourhoods claim lives, particularly among the elderly and the poor. Remedies need not be expensive. Reflective roofs, tree-lined avenues and restored water bodies can lower local temperatures appreciably, suggesting that the heat of our cities is less a natural fate than a consequence of design.
Question: Why does the author say that air-conditioners 'ironically' worsen the problem?
Show answer
Answer: D. Devices meant to give relief from heat end up adding to the heat outdoors.
The irony lies in the fact that air-conditioners, meant to relieve heat, pump more heat outdoors and so worsen the very problem they are used to fight.
Q21. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Translation is often imagined as a mechanical exchange of words, as though every term in one language had an exact twin in another. Any seasoned translator knows otherwise. Words carry histories, connotations and rhythms that refuse to travel intact. A pun that delights readers in Bengali may fall flat in French; a term of respect in Japanese may have no equivalent at all. The translator must therefore make choices, sacrificing literal accuracy here to preserve tone there. Far from being a lesser, derivative art, translation demands the sensibility of a writer and the scruples of a scholar. It is perhaps the closest reading a text can ever receive.
Question: With which of the following statements would the author most likely agree?
Show answer
Answer: B. A good translation may depart from the literal meaning in order to stay true to the spirit of the original.
The author says the translator may sacrifice 'literal accuracy here to preserve tone there', so he would agree that departing from literal meaning can keep faith with the original's spirit. He explicitly denies that translation is a lesser art.
Q22. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Translation is often imagined as a mechanical exchange of words, as though every term in one language had an exact twin in another. Any seasoned translator knows otherwise. Words carry histories, connotations and rhythms that refuse to travel intact. A pun that delights readers in Bengali may fall flat in French; a term of respect in Japanese may have no equivalent at all. The translator must therefore make choices, sacrificing literal accuracy here to preserve tone there. Far from being a lesser, derivative art, translation demands the sensibility of a writer and the scruples of a scholar. It is perhaps the closest reading a text can ever receive.
Question: As used in the passage, 'scruples' most nearly refers to:
Show answer
Answer: D. a conscientious regard for accuracy and integrity
'Scruples' here means moral or professional principles that make a person careful and honest. Paired with 'of a scholar', it denotes a conscientious regard for accuracy.
Q23. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: When antibiotics were introduced in the 1940s, they were hailed as miracle drugs, and diseases that had once been death sentences became easily curable. Yet even Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, warned that misuse would breed resistant microbes. His warning has proved prophetic. Every time an antibiotic is taken unnecessarily, or a course is abandoned halfway, the hardiest bacteria survive and multiply. The routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock to speed their growth has accelerated this process. Today some infections resist almost every available drug, and the pipeline of new antibiotics has slowed to a trickle because such drugs offer pharmaceutical companies meagre profits. Unless usage is curbed, medicine risks returning to a pre-antibiotic age.
Question: The tone of the passage is best described as:
Show answer
Answer: D. cautionary
The author warns of the consequences of antibiotic misuse and ends with the risk of a 'pre-antibiotic age', making the tone cautionary. Only the opening recalls the celebration of the 1940s.
Q24. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Mangroves, the salt-tolerant forests that fringe tropical coastlines, were long dismissed as mosquito-ridden swamps fit only to be drained. That view has been thoroughly discredited. Their tangled roots trap sediment, stabilising shorelines, and act as a buffer that blunts the force of storm surges; villages sheltered by intact mangroves have repeatedly suffered less damage during cyclones than exposed ones. The forests also serve as nurseries for countless species of fish and crab on which coastal fishermen depend. Moreover, they lock away carbon at rates far exceeding those of most inland forests. To clear mangroves for shrimp farms or resorts is thus to trade a lasting shield for a fleeting gain.
Question: Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
Show answer
Answer: C. Mangroves, once undervalued, offer protection, livelihoods and climate benefits that outweigh any short-term gain from clearing them.
The passage lists the benefits of mangroves (coastal protection, fish nurseries, carbon storage) and concludes that clearing them trades 'a lasting shield for a fleeting gain'.
Q25. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Mangroves, the salt-tolerant forests that fringe tropical coastlines, were long dismissed as mosquito-ridden swamps fit only to be drained. That view has been thoroughly discredited. Their tangled roots trap sediment, stabilising shorelines, and act as a buffer that blunts the force of storm surges; villages sheltered by intact mangroves have repeatedly suffered less damage during cyclones than exposed ones. The forests also serve as nurseries for countless species of fish and crab on which coastal fishermen depend. Moreover, they lock away carbon at rates far exceeding those of most inland forests. To clear mangroves for shrimp farms or resorts is thus to trade a lasting shield for a fleeting gain.
Question: What can be inferred about the earlier view of mangroves mentioned in the passage?
Show answer
Answer: A. It failed to recognise their ecological and economic value.
Mangroves were once seen as swamps 'fit only to be drained'; the passage says this view has been discredited and goes on to list their many benefits, implying the earlier view overlooked their value.
Q26. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: When antibiotics were introduced in the 1940s, they were hailed as miracle drugs, and diseases that had once been death sentences became easily curable. Yet even Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, warned that misuse would breed resistant microbes. His warning has proved prophetic. Every time an antibiotic is taken unnecessarily, or a course is abandoned halfway, the hardiest bacteria survive and multiply. The routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock to speed their growth has accelerated this process. Today some infections resist almost every available drug, and the pipeline of new antibiotics has slowed to a trickle because such drugs offer pharmaceutical companies meagre profits. Unless usage is curbed, medicine risks returning to a pre-antibiotic age.
Question: As used in the passage, 'prophetic' most nearly means:
Show answer
Answer: C. accurately predictive
'Prophetic' here means correctly foretelling what would happen. Fleming's warning about resistant microbes has come true, so it was accurately predictive.
Q27. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Mangroves, the salt-tolerant forests that fringe tropical coastlines, were long dismissed as mosquito-ridden swamps fit only to be drained. That view has been thoroughly discredited. Their tangled roots trap sediment, stabilising shorelines, and act as a buffer that blunts the force of storm surges; villages sheltered by intact mangroves have repeatedly suffered less damage during cyclones than exposed ones. The forests also serve as nurseries for countless species of fish and crab on which coastal fishermen depend. Moreover, they lock away carbon at rates far exceeding those of most inland forests. To clear mangroves for shrimp farms or resorts is thus to trade a lasting shield for a fleeting gain.
Question: As used in the passage, the word 'blunts' most nearly means:
Show answer
Answer: B. reduces the intensity of
To 'blunt' the force of storm surges is to weaken or reduce their intensity, as shown by the villages that suffered less damage.
Q28. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: The fashion industry has discovered speed. Collections that once changed twice a year now arrive in stores every few weeks, and garments are priced so low that many are worn only a handful of times before being discarded. The hidden costs of this abundance are considerable. Textile dyeing pollutes rivers, synthetic fibres shed microplastics with every wash, and the workers who stitch these clothes often labour for paltry wages in unsafe conditions. Some consumers have begun to resist, buying fewer but more durable clothes, repairing rather than replacing, and seeking out traditional handloom weavers. Such choices will not transform the industry overnight, but they signal a welcome shift away from treating clothing as disposable.
Question: What is the author's attitude towards consumers who buy fewer, more durable clothes?
Show answer
Answer: A. approving
The author calls their choices 'a welcome shift', showing approval, while conceding that they will not change the industry overnight.
Q29. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Cities are often several degrees warmer than the countryside around them, a phenomenon known as the urban heat island. Concrete and asphalt absorb sunlight by day and release it slowly through the night, while the scarcity of trees deprives streets of shade and of the cooling effect of evaporation. Air-conditioners, ironically, worsen the problem by pumping yet more heat outdoors. The consequences are not merely uncomfortable: heatwaves in dense neighbourhoods claim lives, particularly among the elderly and the poor. Remedies need not be expensive. Reflective roofs, tree-lined avenues and restored water bodies can lower local temperatures appreciably, suggesting that the heat of our cities is less a natural fate than a consequence of design.
Question: As used in the passage, the word 'appreciably' most nearly means:
Show answer
Answer: C. noticeably
'Appreciably' here means to a noticeable or significant degree. 'Gratefully' confuses it with 'appreciate' (to be thankful), and 'marginally' means only slightly, the opposite sense.
Q30. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: Cities are often several degrees warmer than the countryside around them, a phenomenon known as the urban heat island. Concrete and asphalt absorb sunlight by day and release it slowly through the night, while the scarcity of trees deprives streets of shade and of the cooling effect of evaporation. Air-conditioners, ironically, worsen the problem by pumping yet more heat outdoors. The consequences are not merely uncomfortable: heatwaves in dense neighbourhoods claim lives, particularly among the elderly and the poor. Remedies need not be expensive. Reflective roofs, tree-lined avenues and restored water bodies can lower local temperatures appreciably, suggesting that the heat of our cities is less a natural fate than a consequence of design.
Question: Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
Show answer
Answer: C. Urban heat is largely a product of how cities are built and can be reduced through thoughtful design.
The passage explains how building materials and lack of trees trap heat and ends by saying urban heat is 'less a natural fate than a consequence of design', with inexpensive remedies. Air-conditioners are only one contributing factor.
