Find the answer in the passage
Find the line that supports your answer
A familiar word can make an option look right. Check the meaning of the whole option against the passage. In this lesson, practise finding a stated detail, tracking a pronoun, and identifying the main idea.
Read the passage
S1. On Monday, the community reading room began closing at eight in the evening instead of six.
S2. The change was a four-week trial, introduced after several working readers asked for more time.
S3. During the first week, volunteers counted 18 visitors after six.
S4. They also noted that the last bus left at seven thirty.
S5. Before deciding whether to keep the longer hours, the coordinator asked visitors to suggest a suitable closing time.
The sentence labels are there to help you point to evidence. You do not need outside knowledge about libraries or bus services.
A claim, a line, a check
Try this claim: “The new closing time is permanent.”
- Locate the relevant line: S2 calls the change a four-week trial.
- Read nearby information: S5 says the decision about keeping the hours has not yet been made.
- Compare meanings: a trial being reviewed is not a permanent decision.
- Reject the claim. Keep the limit: the room is trying longer hours for four weeks.
Use this short route for the practice:
Question → relevant sentence → whole meaning → answer
For a pronoun, look for the noun it refers to and check that the sentence still makes sense. For a word meaning, try the replacement in that sentence. For the main idea, choose a summary of the passage, not one small fact.
Five practice checks
- What led to the four-week trial?
Show answer
Correct answer: C
S2 directly gives the reason: several working readers asked for more time. The passage does not describe a vote or a cancelled bus service.
Option A: S4 gives a bus departure time; it does not say the service was cancelled.
Option B: Several readers made a request. That is not the same as every reader voting.
Option D: No sentence says that the coordinator wanted fewer visitors.
Hint: Find the sentence containing “introduced after”.
- What was the reading room's evening closing time during the trial?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
S1 says the evening closing time changed from six to eight. Eight is the trial closing time; seven thirty is the last bus departure.
Option B: Six was the earlier closing time, before the extension.
Option C: Seven thirty belongs to the bus information in S4, not the room's closing time.
Option D: Nine o'clock is not stated in the passage.
Hint: Separate the reading room's time from the bus's time.
- Who does “They” in S4 refer to?
Show answer
Correct answer: D
S3 introduces volunteers who counted visitors. S4 continues with what those volunteers also noted, so “They” refers to the volunteers.
Option A: The working readers are mentioned in S2, but S3 changes the subject to volunteers.
Option B: The request for visitors' suggestions appears later, in S5.
Option C: The coordinator is one person introduced in S5, not the group carrying out the observations in S3–S4.
Hint: Read S3 and S4 together: who counted and also noted something?
- In S5, “suitable” most nearly means:
Show answer
Correct answer: B
A suitable closing time is one that is appropriate for the situation. S5 asks for suggestions; it does not require the latest possible time or announce a permanent rule.
Option A: Nothing in the sentence suggests that the time should be kept secret.
Option C: Appropriate does not mean permanent; the decision is still being considered.
Option D: The latest possible time may or may not be appropriate. The word does not mean “latest”.
Hint: Try each replacement in “suggest a ___ closing time”.
- Which statement best expresses the main idea?
Show answer
Correct answer: C
C connects the request, the trial, and the decision still to be made. It covers the passage as a whole without adding a claim about all visitors or a final judgement of success.
Option A: A bus time is recorded, but the passage never says that all visitors use that bus.
Option B: Working readers asked for more time. Their later opinion of the trial is not given.
Option D: The passage reports a count, not a standard for success or a final evaluation.
Hint: Choose the option that connects the beginning and the final sentence.
Before you move on
Point to S2 for the reason, S1 for the new time, and S3 for the noun behind “They”. A main-idea answer should fit all five sentences. A correct detail can still be the wrong summary.
Syllabus link: passage comprehension is included in the official SSC CGL 2026 notice, sections 13.10.4 and 13.11.3.1. This is an original practice passage.
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