Reading and Thinking Skills MCQs for MDCAT Practice

English section, Reading and Thinking Skills chapter. Sample questions from past PMC papers.

1. Question 1
   "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul." Which figure of speech dominates this line by Emily Dickinson?
   • A.Apostrophe
   • B.Personification
   • C.Metaphor
   • D.Hyperbole
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2. Question 2
   The Period between 1600 to 1785 is known as:
   • A.Restoration Period
   • B.Neoclassical Period
   • C.Developing Period
   • D.Stone Age Period
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3. Question 3
   That freedom means freedom only from foreign domination, is an outworn idea. It is not merely governments that should be free but the people themselves who should be free; and no freedom has any real value for the common man or woman unless it means freedom from want, freedom from disease, freedom from ignorance., This is the main task which confronts us if we are to take our rightful place in the modern world. We cannot hold the clock back, and therefore it is we who must go forward at a double pace, bending all our resources and all our energies to this great purpose. "The great purpose" mentioned by the writer at the end of the passage refers to _________.
   • A.Freedom from foreign domination
   • B.People themselves should be free
   • C.The real value of freedom
   • D.Taking our rightful place in the modern world
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4. Question 4
   Read the following passage to answer the given question:As adults, we may be able to convey our mood by a mere twist of the lips, but the infant throws much more into the battle. When smiling at full intensity, it also kicks and waves its arms about, stretches its hands out towards the stimulus and moves them about, produces babbling voices, tilts back its head, protrudes its chin, leans its trunk forward or rolls it to one side.Which statement is true?
   • A.Babies rarely smile and often it is difficult to judge their smiles
   • B.A baby's smile is more vigorous than an adult's
   • C.In comparison to adults, a baby smiles more quietly
   • D.Babies make babbling noises before they smile
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5. Question 5
   What do you know about the location of the Sahara?
   • A.It is located in the southern part of Africa.
   • B.It is located in the northern part of Africa.
   • C.It is located entirely within the continent of Asia.
   • D.It is located along the equator in central Africa.
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6. Question 6
   Read the passage and answer the following question:In earlier times, when every substance was believed to have its own qualities, there was no difficulty in believing that some substances were endowed with life, others not. Wood was wood, and water was water, and though transformations did occur, as in the disappearance of wood in the fire, they were not surprising in a world where the most miraculous changes were taking place under everyone’s every day. There was nothing but ‘doth suffer a sea-change into something rich and strange’. A seed put into the ground became in a short time a plant with leaves and flowers: the white and yolk of an egg turned into the flesh and bones and feathers of a chicken, which, no sooner was the shell cracked, jumped out and started running about. Some substances are alive, and some are not.Which of the following statements best describes this belief?
   • A.The transformation in natural substances was unnoticed in ancient times
   • B.There was no transformation in natural substances ancient times
   • C.There was no concept of dead and alive things in the past
   • D.The burning of wood is not an example of transformation
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7. Question 7
   Which number comes in the missing place? 1, 3, 7, 15, 31, _____
   • A.61
   • B.65
   • C.67
   • D.63
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8. Question 8
   The period between 1700 to 1745 is known as:
   • A.The Restoration
   • B.The Augustan Age
   • C.The Age of Thrones
   • D.The Age of Sensibility
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