The IBPS Clerk Prelims Exam 2025 is scheduled to be held on 4th, 5th and 11th October 2025 and this is your golden opportunity to clear the IBSP Clerk exam in first attempt. To achieve success, you need to maximize your marks in all sections like English, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning. In the English section, you need to solve 30 questions of 30 marks in 20 minutes, where Reading Comprehension (RC) plays a important role. Reading Comprehension (RC) test your reading speed, passage comprehension and vocabulary knowledge through synonyms, antonyms, tone-based and inference-based questions. Many candidates find Reading Comprehension lengthy and skip it, but with the right strategy, it can actually become a scoring area for you. In this blog, we will give you smart tips to solve Reading Comprehension easily in IBPS Clerk 2025 Prelims Exam.
Reading Comprehension (RC) means the ability to read, understand, and interpret a given passage or text and then answer questions based on it. In simple terms, it checks how well you understand what you read.
In competitive exams like IBPS Clerk 2025, you’ll get a passage (about 300–500 words) on topics such as economics, environment, technology, social issues, or general awareness. After reading, you’ll have to answer 6–8 multiple-choice questions that test your understanding.
Many candidates find Reading Comprehension (RC) a bit difficult as it not only tests your reading and comprehension skills but also your grip on English grammar and vocabulary. Below are the most common types of RC questions asked in the IBPS Clerk 2025 exam:
1. Fact-based or Direct questions– These are the simplest questions whose answer is directly in the passage. You just need to read carefully and find the exact information.
2. True/False questions- In these questions, you will be given statements based on the passage, and you have to decide whether they are true, false or not.
3. Vocabulary-based questions (synonyms and antonyms)- Such questions test your vocabulary skills. You may be asked to find the meaning of a word used in the passage, its synonym or antonym.
4. Inference-based questions- In these, you have to understand the meaning or inference hidden in the passage. This tests your ability to read between the lines.
5. Fill in the Blanks- Sometimes, a blank is given in the passage and you have to choose the correct option that maintains the meaning and flow of the passage.
Some common themes of reading comprehension can be asked in the IBPS PO 2025 exam.
Also, you should read editorials from The Hindu and The Economic Times.
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
The story of Henry Rawlinson and the riddle of the mountain is a story about how knowledge is created. It does not have a clear beginning and its protagonists are largely unknown today. There is no eureka moment—no equivalent to Archimedes, naked and trailing bathwater, running gleefully through the streets of Syracuse. Yet it is also a story of world-changing discovery. The riddle of Behistun changed the way Westerners think about the past, and their place in history, forever.
The rock of Behistun had haunted Rawlinson’s dreams for years. He first set eyes on it in the summer of 1836, when he was a young officer in the service of the British East India Company. European travellers had wondered about the inscriptions on the mountainside for centuries. But none had gotten close enough to record the cuneiform symbols accurately. Only in 1764, after the German explorer Carsten Niebuhr managed to copy a portion of the inscription, did scholars begin the battle to decipher it. By the early nineteenth century, thanks to the work of the philologist Georg Friedrich Grotefend, a few of the Old Persian symbols began to be understood. But in 1836, two of the inscription’s three languages, Babylonian and Elamite, were entirely unknown. And most of the inscription had still not yet been transcribed accurately.
Rawlinson was an unlikely scholar. To his friends, he appeared to be just another cheerful, hard-drinking junior officer—a little too fond of horses and cards, and a little too desperate to impress women. “The days all pass much in the same manner,” he wrote in his journal. As a child, growing up in Oxfordshire, Rawlinson had received a strong education in Greek and Latin. He learned to read Homer and Virgil almost as easily as Chaucer. In his first years of military service in India, he found that other languages came naturally to him too. Soon, the heady, blissful poetry of Persia was more of a thrill for him than the drunken dinners of his regiment. Junior officers were not often found swooning over the songs of the great Sufi poet Ḥafiẓ, so Rawlinson kept his new obsession to himself. But when the chance came for a posting to Persia, he jumped at it.
In 1836, standing in front of the Behistun Inscription for the first time, Rawlinson was not content to examine it through a telescope. But unlike scholars in Europe, who were working from incomplete and inaccurate copies of the inscriptions, Rawlinson was on the spot—and he was confident that he would soon make discoveries of his own. But for now, he was painfully aware of how little he understood. Only a few symbols from one of the inscriptions had revealed themselves to him, and most of them were proper names.
Before Rawlinson could celebrate the completed translation of the Behistun Inscription, there was one final test. When he returned to London in 1855, Rawlinson found that his discoveries had made him a celebrity. His insights into cuneiform, along with the archaeological discoveries of Austen Henry Layard in the ancient cities of Mesopotamia, had created a frenzy in Victorian Britain for all things Assyrian. Now, the Royal Asiatic Society proposed a test to see if the mystery of cuneiform had truly been solved. Scholars were invited to submit sealed translations of one specific inscription, a newly discovered piece from the reign of Tiglath-Pileser I, dating from around 1100 BCE. And, of course, the work was just beginning. The translations would be opened by a specially appointed committee. If the translations agreed, then the mystery could be said to have been solved. Things did not start well. But the closer they looked, the more the committee found that, in all important respects, Rawlinson agreed almost exactly. After almost two thousand years, the mystery was a mystery no more.
Q1. Which of the following is/are the significance of the riddle of Behistun?
I. It’s a story about the creation of knowledge.
II. It replicates Archimedes’ story, changing the way Westerners thought.
III. It’s a story about a world changing discovery despite having no clear beginnings.
(1) Only I
(2) Only II
(3) Only I and III
(4) Only II and III
(5) All I, II and III
Q2. Which of the following is TRUE about the inscriptions on the mountains of Behistun?
(1) They were first discovered by European travellers.
(2) Persian was one of the languages used on the inscriptions.
(3) It was first deciphered by Carsten Niebuhr.
(4) It was first discovered in 1764.
(5) It was first translated completely and accurately by Georg Friedrich Grotefend.
Q3. As per the passage, which of the following lines about Rawlinson, if true, would be agreed upon by his friends?
(1) Rawlinson was a dedicated husband and a father.
(2) Rawlinson had a sound academic background.
(3) Rawlinson got into a fight with one of his colleagues as he was heavily drunk.
(4) Rawlinson was quickly promoted to the ranks of a senior officer.
(5) Rawlinson was the go-to person for those having a bad mood.
Q4. As per the passage, which of the following is NOT true about Rawlinson?
(1) Rawlinson was born in Oxfordshire.
(2) Rawlinson loved reading Persian poetry.
(3) Rawlinson listened to Sufi songs.
(4) Rawlinson was good with languages.
(5) All are true
Q5. How was Rawlinson different from the scholars in Europe?
I. He had little understanding of the inscriptions as compared to the European scholars.
II. He had access to accurate and complete copies of the inscription, while the European scholars did not.
III. He was acquainted with all the symbols in the inscriptions, while the European scholars were not.
(1) Only I
(2) Only II
(3) Only I and II
(4) Only II and III
(5) All I, II and III
Q6. Refer to the line: “Before Rawlinson could celebrate the completed translation of the Behistun Inscription, there was one final test.” Which of the following is the ‘final test’ as per the passage?
(1) Approval of Rawlinson’s translation by other scholars.
(2) Approval of Behistun translations by a specially appointed committee.
(3) Submission of sealed translation of one specific inscription.
(4) Confirming that the mystery of cuneiform has been solved.
(5) None of the above
Q7. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word ‘transcribed’ as used in the passage?
(1) reverted
(2) recorded
(3) tumbled
(4) transgressed
(5) traversed
Q8. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word ‘content’ as used in the passage?
(1) endurance
(2) abomination
(3) ignominious
(4) satiated
(5) ambivalence
Candidates follow this master plan to solve the Reading comprehension questions quickly:
Read newspapers like The Hindu, especially the editorial section. This will improve your vocabulary, speed, and familiarity with diverse topics (economics, technology, environment, etc.) asked in exams.
Don’t just read fast- read smart. Focus on:
Many questions require understanding words in context. Make a habit of learning 5–10 new words daily and revising them with example sentences. This helps in synonym/antonym-based RC questions.
Solving IBPS Clerk previous year RCs helps you understand exam difficulty and pattern. Mock tests also help you manage time effectively and get used to exam pressure.
Some common tones include:
Sometimes passages are on controversial or confusing topics. Remember, you don’t have to agree or disagree; just focus on what the author is conveying.
Daily RC practice (at least 1–2 passages) will boost your confidence. Keep a notebook of mistakes to analyse where you lose marks.
Join our exclusive Telegram group where our experts are ready to answer all your queries, guide you in banking exam preparation, and give personalised tips to boost your success. Get access to real-time solutions, expert advice, and valuable resources to improve your study journey.
Other Related Blogs
Click on the Blog to check IBPS RRB Clerk Prelims 2025 Shift 1, 2, 3…
Prepare for SSC CHSL Tier 2 Reasoning with syllabus, study plan, tips, and free mock…
Download free History PDF for RRB NTPC, practice top repeated questions, attempt free topic tests,…
OICL AO 2025 study plan with strategy, important topics to be prepared on priority and…
RBI Grade B Phase 2 Exam Analysis 2025: Check section-wise difficulty level, expected good attempts,…
IBPS RRB Clerk Expected Cut Off 2025 has been released based on the previous year's…