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Reading comprehension practice for bank exams

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 4 min read

A reading comprehension (RC) set gives you a passage and asks questions that test whether you understood what it says, what it implies and how the writer feels. RC is a commonly tested part of the English Language section in bank exams. The IBPS PO prelims English test, for example, has 30 questions in 20 minutes, so you cannot read slowly. The passage below was written for practice, with five questions in the usual styles.

What RC questions ask

The passage

Digital payments have changed how small shopkeepers in India handle money. A decade ago, a vegetable seller in a small town counted notes at the end of each day and worried about counterfeit currency. Today, a QR code pasted on the cart lets customers pay in seconds, and the money reaches the seller's bank account before the customer has left. The change has brought benefits beyond convenience. Sellers now have a record of their daily sales, which helps them to ask banks for small loans. However, the change has not reached everyone. Elderly customers often prefer cash, and in areas with poor network coverage a payment can fail at the very moment it is needed. Experts therefore argue that cash and digital payments will exist side by side for a long time.

Five practice questions

Question 1

What is the passage mainly about?

• A. The dangers of counterfeit currency
• B. How digital payments are changing small trade, and where the change falls short
• C. Why banks refuse small loans to shopkeepers
• D. Why cash will soon disappear

Question 2

According to the passage, how do daily sales records help sellers?

• A. They get lower prices from wholesalers
• B. They earn higher daily sales
• C. They can ask banks for small loans
• D. They get free network coverage

Question 3

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

• A. A seller in a village with weak mobile network may still need to accept cash
• B. Elderly customers refuse to enter shops
• C. Banks no longer lend to vegetable sellers
• D. QR codes are never used in small towns

Question 4

Choose the word that is most nearly opposite in meaning to "poor" as used in "poor network coverage".

• A. Weak
• B. Strong
• C. Limited
• D. Rare

Question 5

Which of the following best describes the writer's tone?

• A. Entirely critical
• B. Humorous
• C. Alarmed
• D. Balanced and informative

Answers and explanations

1. B. The passage describes the benefits of digital payments for small sellers and then the limits. Option A is a detail, C is not discussed, and D goes against the last sentence.
2. C. The passage says sellers now have a record of daily sales "which helps them to ask banks for small loans". The other options are not mentioned.
3. A. The passage says payments can fail where network coverage is poor. It follows that such a seller may still need to take cash. The other options are extreme or not supported.
4. B. "Poor" here means weak or inadequate, so its opposite is strong. "Weak" is a synonym, and "limited" is close to a synonym. "Rare" is unrelated.
5. D. The writer gives benefits and then limits, without strong emotion. That is balanced and informative. The passage is neither entirely critical nor humorous nor alarmed.

How to prepare reading comprehension

• Read the passage once, at normal speed, for the main idea. Then go to the questions and return to the text for details. Re-reading everything wastes time.
• Mark the signal words. "However", "therefore", "although" and "instead" show where the argument turns.
• Beware of extreme words in options. "Never", "always", "entirely" and "only" are usually wrong unless the text says the same.
• Test inference answers against the text. An inference must be forced by the passage. If you need an outside fact to accept it, reject it.
• Read widely every day. An editorial from a national daily or the RBI and economy sections of a business newspaper builds speed and bank-related vocabulary.
• Review the options you eliminated. Note why each was wrong, as setters reuse the same trap patterns.

Practise one passage a day for a month and keep a list of words you had to guess. For other English question types, try cloze test and error spotting.

The full reading comprehension topic test is on PrepMatic (about 15 questions, 30 minutes). The English Language guide and the bank exam hub cover the section in each exam.

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