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English Quiz - Comprehension (Questions)

Comprehension means understanding. It's important that you understand what you hear and read: that's why your grammar, spelling and pronunciation must be good.

Many people don't take enough time to read words carefully in order to fully understand what is being conveyed. For this exercise, it would be worthwhile reading the following article at least once. If you have a pen and paper handy, perhaps jot down a few key notes that might be worth remembering ~ this could save you having to reread the text again once you get to a question. Make sure you have an all-round general understanding of the passage and if you do need to refer to it again, that's no problem at all. If you really want to test your comprehension, play the quiz again later on the same day without reading the text first. If you get all ten questions correct, then your comprehension (and memory) skills are excellent!

This is the first of three 11-plus English comprehension quizzes.

The questions below are based on the following text:

Radio owes its development to the invention of the telegraph and the telephone; indeed, all three technologies are closely related, and radio technology actually began as wireless telegraphy. Technically speaking, the term 'radio' refers to either the electronic appliance itself or to the content of the electronic device.

The whole thing started with the discovery of radio waves: these are electromagnetic waves that have the capacity to transmit data such as music, speech and pictures through space. Of those devices that function by using electromagnetic waves, some of the commonest ones are the following: radio, microwaves, cordless phones, remotely controlled machines and television.

During the 1860s, James Clerk Maxwell predicted the existence of radio waves; in 1886, the German physicist, Heinrich Hertz demonstrated that rapidly varying electric currents could be projected into space in the form of radio waves: waves that are similar to those of light and heat. In 1866, Mahlon Loomis successfully demonstrated the concept of wireless telegraphy: his experiment provided the first known example of wireless aerial communication. Finally, Guillermo Marconi proved that communicating by radio waves was technologically feasible: in 1902, a transmission from the Marconi station in Glace Bay, Canada, became the first radio message to cross the Atlantic. Guillermo Marconi is often called the "Father of Radio"; however, he did not invent it. Be that as it may, he was probably the person who did more than anyone else to advance radio technology.
1. What is meant by 'The whole thing'?
[ ] The invention of the telegraph and the telephone
[ ] The development and invention of the telegraph, the telephone and the radio
[ ] The development and invention of the telegraph and the telephone
[ ] The development and invention of the radio
2. Thinking about its role in the text, what is meant by the word 'capacity'?
[ ] measure of electrical output
[ ] volume
[ ] physical ability
[ ] size
3. What sort of scientist do you think James Clerk Maxwell was?
[ ] Physician
[ ] Physicist
[ ] Pharmacist
[ ] Chemist
4. What does 'Heinrich Hertz demonstrated' mean?
[ ] Heinrich Hertz showed
[ ] Heinrich Hertz complained
[ ] Heinrich Hertz entertained
[ ] Heinrich Hertz guessed
5. Thinking about its role in the text, what is meant by the word 'projected'?
[ ] swirled
[ ] floated
[ ] drawn
[ ] sent
6. In 'his experiment provided', whose experiment does 'his' refer to?
[ ] Guillermo Marconi's
[ ] James Clerk Maxwell's
[ ] Heinrich Hertz's
[ ] Mahlon Loomis's
7. What did Guillermo Marconi prove?
[ ] Communicating by sound waves was technologically feasible
[ ] Communicating by waves was technologically feasible
[ ] Communicating by radio waves was technologically feasible
[ ] Communicating by radios was technologically feasible
8. What does 'it' in the second to last sentence refer to?
[ ] The radio
[ ] Father of Radio
[ ] The telegraph
[ ] The telephone
9. What does the writer mean by saying 'Be that as it may'?
[ ] Who cares that he didn't invent the radio
[ ] However, he didn't invent the radio
[ ] Despite being the "Father of Radio"
[ ] Despite not inventing the radio
10. Which of the following would be an appropriate title for the text?
[ ] The development of the telephone
[ ] The development of the radio
[ ] The development of the telegraph
[ ] The development of radio waves
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English Quiz - Comprehension (Answers)
1. What is meant by 'The whole thing'?
[ ] The invention of the telegraph and the telephone
[x] The development and invention of the telegraph, the telephone and the radio
[ ] The development and invention of the telegraph and the telephone
[ ] The development and invention of the radio
'The whole thing' refers to how everything initially started and led on to the development and invention of the telegraph, the telephone and the radio
2. Thinking about its role in the text, what is meant by the word 'capacity'?
[ ] measure of electrical output
[ ] volume
[x] physical ability
[ ] size
In the text, 'capacity' means 'the physical ability to do something'
3. What sort of scientist do you think James Clerk Maxwell was?
[ ] Physician
[x] Physicist
[ ] Pharmacist
[ ] Chemist
Heinrich Hertz was a physicist, so you should have gone for 'physicist' - which is what he was. Look around for helpful tips!
4. What does 'Heinrich Hertz demonstrated' mean?
[x] Heinrich Hertz showed
[ ] Heinrich Hertz complained
[ ] Heinrich Hertz entertained
[ ] Heinrich Hertz guessed
In the text, 'demonstrate' means 'to show or prove something convincingly'
5. Thinking about its role in the text, what is meant by the word 'projected'?
[ ] swirled
[ ] floated
[ ] drawn
[x] sent
In the text, 'project' means 'to send'. Think of the 'varying electric currents' being 'thrown' into space
6. In 'his experiment provided', whose experiment does 'his' refer to?
[ ] Guillermo Marconi's
[ ] James Clerk Maxwell's
[ ] Heinrich Hertz's
[x] Mahlon Loomis's
'his' is in the same sentence as Mahlon Loomis
7. What did Guillermo Marconi prove?
[ ] Communicating by sound waves was technologically feasible
[ ] Communicating by waves was technologically feasible
[x] Communicating by radio waves was technologically feasible
[ ] Communicating by radios was technologically feasible
Read the questions carefully. By the way, sound waves are not the same as radio waves: sound can't travel in a vacuum
8. What does 'it' in the second to last sentence refer to?
[x] The radio
[ ] Father of Radio
[ ] The telegraph
[ ] The telephone
He's called the "Father of Radio" - that's the clue!
9. What does the writer mean by saying 'Be that as it may'?
[ ] Who cares that he didn't invent the radio
[ ] However, he didn't invent the radio
[ ] Despite being the "Father of Radio"
[x] Despite not inventing the radio
In the text, 'Be that as it may' means 'despite that'. The 'that' being the fact that he didn't invent the radio
10. Which of the following would be an appropriate title for the text?
[ ] The development of the telephone
[x] The development of the radio
[ ] The development of the telegraph
[ ] The development of radio waves
The text is about the radio: 'Radio owes its development to ... '