Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow…
2023
Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate option.
“Let’s go! We are going to be late!” shouted Glen gleefully as he tightened his schoolbag on his back. Three other faces broke into a smile upon hearing his words. They could not wait to soak their feet in the water and perhaps catch a small fish or two, just for kicks. They were clearly not heading towards where they should be — school. The cold imposing white building became smaller and smaller. Their little hearts grew braver by the minute. They knew exactly where to go.
The canal was huge but that morning, there was only a small lazy stream of dirty water in it. With great gusto, Glen, the leader of the pack, hoisted himself over the railings and climbed down the huge monsoon drain. In the process, he got himself very dirty, but the excitement of truancy was too great to be bothered by some loose buttons and tears in his shirt.
In a fraction of seconds, the other boys joined him. Soon, screams and laughter of delight reverberated into the air but no one else could hear them for they had chosen a canal that was far from anyone. Glen spied many tiny fish darting to and fro in the murky water. They had no economical value and were practically worthless but nevertheless, the thrill of catching them bare-handed was priceless. Glen raced after an extra fat one. He plunged his hands to grab it only to have it slip between the cracks of his fingers.
Where should the boys have been at that time of the day ?
- A.
At home
- B.
At school
- C.
Playing with friends
- D.
By the canal
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Literal comprehension questions ask the reader to locate a detail that is explicitly stated in the passage — the answer sits directly in the wording, and no inference beyond the written text is needed.
Applying this here: the passage says the boys "were clearly not heading towards where they should be — school." This single sentence directly names their expected location at that hour of the morning.
"At home" is never named as their expected stop — the narrative shows them already out and heading to the canal, past the point of leaving home.
"Playing with friends" names an activity, not a location, so it cannot answer a "where" question at all.
"By the canal" is where the boys actually ended up, which the passage frames as an act of skipping their real destination — not the place they were supposed to be.
So the answer is fixed directly by the passage's own wording: the boys should have been at school.