Reading Comprehension Questions for the SBI PO Mains Exam 2025

Reading Compression is an important part of SBI PO, and they are especially designed to test a candidate’s ability to interpret, understand, and analyze complex passages. You need to have a good grasp of the English language to comprehend the passage. They tend to check your critical thinking skills. Knowing the ins and outs of the RCs can actually boost your overall scores in the English Language section. All you need is consistent practice and the right approach to tackle both factual and inference-based questions effectively. In this article we have discussed how an aspirant can prepare Reading Comprehension Questions for the SBI PO Mains Exam 2025.

Reading Comprehension Questions for SBI PO Mains Exam 2025

The Reading Compression part of the SBI PO Mains Exam 2025 is a blend of diverse topics like economics, environment, social issues, or current affairs. Candidates are advised to read editorials, opinion pieces, and reports from reputable sources to excel in RCs. The questions also include vocabulary, tone of the passage, central idea, and inference-based queries to understand your grasp over the English language and your critical thinking skills. Sometimes it does feel overwhelming, but with regular practice, not only will your reading speed increase, but it will also enhance the ability to look out for valuable information quickly.

SBI PO Mains Exam 2025 : Reading Comprehension Questions

Directions: Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
Have you noticed how, when crossing a busy road, you feel a sudden urge to speed up and melt into the crowd? Whether you are in Rio de Janeiro or Bangkok, New Delhi or New York City, your animal instinct tells you that it is safer to venture as part of a herd than on your own. Fear brings us closer together. The evidence is not just anecdotal. When we are herding, neuroimaging experiments show increased activation in the amygdala area of the brain, where fear and other negative emotions are processed. While you may feel vulnerable and exposed on your own, being part of the herd gives you a distinct sense of protection. You know in your guts that, in the midst of others, the risk of being hit by a car is lower because it is somehow distributed among the group’s members. The more of them, the lower the risk. There is safety in numbers. And so much more than mere safety.

Herding also comes with an intoxicating sense of power: as members of a crowd, we feel much stronger and braver than we are in fact. And sometimes we act accordingly. The same person who, on his own, wouldn’t ‘hurt a fly’ will not hesitate to set a government building on fire or rob a liquor store when part of an angry mass. The most mild-mannered of us can make the meanest comments as part of an online mob. A herd can do wonders of psychological transformation in its individual members; in no time, prudence turns into folly, caution into recklessness, decency into savagery. Once caught up in the maelstrom, it is extremely difficult to hold back: you see it as your duty to participate.

The herd can also give its members a disproportionate sense of personal worth. No matter how empty or miserable their individual existence may otherwise be, belonging to a certain group makes them feel accepted and recognised – even respected. There is no hole in one’s personal life, no matter how big, that one’s intense devotion to one’s tribe cannot fill, no trauma that it does not seem to heal. That’s why cults and gangs, fringe organisations or sects hold such an extraordinary appeal: to a disoriented soul, they can offer a sense of fulfilment and recognition that neither family nor friends nor profession can supply. A crowd can be therapeutic in the same way in which a highly toxic substance can have curative powers.

Herding, then, engenders a paradoxical form of identity: you are somebody not despite the fact that you’ve melted into the crowd, but because of it. You may be nobody on your own, and your life an empty shell, yet once you’ve managed to establish a meaningful connection with the herd, its volcanic, boundless life overflows into yours and more than fulfils it. You will not be able to find yourself in the crowd, but that’s the least of your worries: you are now part of something that feels so much grander and nobler than your poor self. Your connection with the life of the herd not only fills an inner vacuum but adds a sense of purpose to your disoriented existence. And the more individuals bring their disorientatedness to the party, the livelier it gets. And all the more dangerous.

Fear brings people closer. What scientific evidence has the author posited to support this?
(1) Experiments demonstrate increased brain activity when we are faced with our fears.
(2) Experiments reveal heightened brain activity when we move in numbers.
(3) All evidence put forward by the author is based on personal experience.
(4) The author has presented people’s gut feeling as evidence to back his statement.
(5) The author has given the example of online communities that bully users as evidence.
Ans: 2
Solution: The author has stated that when we are in crowds, there is increased activity in the amygdala area of the brain. Refer to the line in the passage, The evidence is not just anecdotal. When we are herding, neuroimaging experiments show increased activation in the amygdala area of the brain, where fear and other negative emotions are processed.  Therefore, B is correct.
A is incorrect, as it states the opposite of what has been stated as evidence.
C is incorrect because, along with anecdotal evidence, the author has presented scientific backing to prove his point.
D and E are incorrect as they are not scientific evidence.
Thus, B is the right answer.

We feel powerful in numbers. Which of the following statements from the passage can serve as an example to support this?
(1) when crossing a busy road, you feel a sudden urge to speed up and melt into the crowd
(2) that’s why cults and gangs, fringe organisations or sects hold such an extraordinary appeal
(3) whether you are in Rio de Janeiro or Bangkok, New Delhi or New York City, your animal instinct tells you that it is safer to venture as part of a herd than on your own
(4) the most mild-mannered of us can make the meanest comments as part of an online mob
(5) you are somebody not despite the fact that you’ve melted into the crowd, but because of it
Ans: 4
Solution: The author has stated that when a person, who is usually harmless, on becoming a part of an online community that acts as a mob and posts mean comments, starts behaving like its members, as being connected with the online mob gives that person a sense of power. Refer to the second paragraph in the passage, The same person who, on his own, wouldn’t ‘hurt a fly’ will not hesitate to set a government building on fire or rob a liquor store when part of an angry mass. The most mild-mannered of us can make the meanest comments as part of an online mob. Therefore, D is the correct choice.
A and C are incorrect, as they are examples of feeling safety in crowds.
B is incorrect, as it is an example of an instance when a crowd instils a sense of personal worth in an individual.
E is incorrect, as it is an example of crowds providing identity to people.
Thus, D is the right answer.

Why has the author compared crowds to highly toxic substances?
(1) A person can become addictive to being in a crowd
(2) A crowd makes a person diseased from inside
(3) A crowd steals a person his or her personal identity
(4) A crowd subject a person’s life to trauma
(5) None of the above
Ans: 5
Solution: None of the given options are reasons for which the author has compared crowds to highly toxic substances. The author has stated that a crowd, like a highly toxic substance, can have curative effects on an individual, healing his or her lack of self worth by providing acceptance and recognition. Refer to the line in the third paragraph of the passage, A crowd can be therapeutic in the same way in which a highly toxic substance can have curative powers. The remaining options are contextually incorrect.
Thus, E is the right answer.

Why does the author say that herding engenders a paradoxical form of identity?
(1) After joining a group, an individual’s identity gets in conflict with the collective identity of the group.
(2) A group is independent of an identity. On joining the group, the individual lends it one.
(3) An individual’s joining a group isn’t a testimony to his personal identity. On the contrary, it is the group that provides him with one.
(4) An individual is left with two identities: his own and the group’s.
(5) An individual’s identity is predisposed to savagery upon entering the group.
Ans: 3
Solution: The author has stated in the passage that an individual’s identity exists not because he or she was able to join a group, but because the group provided him or her with one. Refer to the line in the last paragraph of the passage, Herding, then, engenders a paradoxical form of identity: you are somebody not despite the fact that you’ve melted into the crowd, but because of it. A and D are incorrect, as they have not been mentioned in the passage. B is incorrect because it states the opposite of what the paragraph conveys. E is incorrect because the author has not mentioned it in support of the statement given in the question.
Thus, C is the right answer.

According to the passage, why do we prefer crossing roads in groups?
(1) A group nullifies the risk of an accident
(2) A group provides a sense of unity
(3) A group deflates the risk of an accident
(4) A group offers a sense of strength
(5) None of the above
Ans: 3
Solution: It has been mentioned in the passage that we prefer to cross roads in groups because we believe that there is safety in numbers and that the risk of being hit by a car is reduced in a group as it gets distributed among the members. Therefore, C is the correct choice.
A is incorrect as the passage does not state that crossing the roads in groups eliminates the risk of accident. The remaining options are contextually incorrect.
Thus, C is the right answer.

What is the central purpose of the passage?
(1) To explain the role of the brain in making an individual inclined to herding.
(2) To list the ways herding moulds an individual’s personality and to life as a whole.
(3) To explain why a person feels compelled to join a crowd when crossing a street.
(4) To refute the fact that herding makes an individual predisposed to violence.
(5) To establish fear as a major motivator for herding.
Ans: 2
Solution: The passage mentions ways in which a person’s life undergoes changes upon becoming part of a crowd. This makes B the appropriate answer to this question. A and C are incorrect, as they are just aspects of herding that have been discussed in the passage. D is incorrect because the passage mentions that herding makes an individual susceptible to violent behaviour. Refer to the paragraph in the passage: “The same person who, on his own, wouldn’t ‘hurt a fly’ will not hesitate to set a government building on fire or rob a liquor store when part of an angry mass. The most mild-mannered of us can make the meanest comments as part of an online mob.” E is incorrect, as fear has been discussed in just the first paragraph and is not the central theme of the passage.
Thus, B is the right answer.

Solving RC Questions for SBI PO Mains Exam 2025: Tips & Tricks

Many aspirants wonder about solving the reading comprehension, like how to solve it in the least time while still understanding the passage. You don’t need to worry about that anymore. Below we have shared some tips and tricks that will help you in solving the RC questions for the SBI PO Mains Exam 2025.

• Before reading the whole passage, candidates are advised to go through the questions first. This gives you an idea of what to look for in the passage, and thus you can focus on key information while reading.
• Rushing through the passage is not the solution. Try to read with a serene mind. Calmly understand the main idea, the writer’s tone, and the flow of conversation that’s being presented through the passage.
• Instead of only focusing on choosing the right answer, you can also follow the approach of eliminating the wrong ones. Doing this will not only save time but will also improve your chances if you’re unsure about the right answer. Eliminate answers that are clearly irrelevant or contradictory to the passage.
• Refer back to the passage as many times as required. Don’t become overconfident over your memory. Especially in detail-based questions, referring back ensures accuracy.
• It’s always advantageous to strengthen your vocabulary. It helps in understanding difficult words in the passage and gives you an edge.
• Try to avoid assuming anything. Whatever information you might be needing must probably be in the passage. Avoid bringing any external knowledge or personal opinions.
• During your preparation, practice RCs in a time-bound environment. This will help in improving your speed and accuracy.

Do’s and Don’ts for Reading Comprehension in SBI PO Mains

Preparing for Reading Comprehension (RC) in the SBI PO Mains requires more than just reading speed. You need strategy, patience, and accuracy. Here are some essential dos and don’ts to keep in mind while tackling RC passages in the exam:

Final Thoughts

Reading Comprehension is a scoring yet challenging section in the SBI PO Mains. But with consistent practice, smart strategies, and a focus on accuracy over speed, you can master it with ease. Remember, it’s not just about reading fast but about reading smart. So stay calm, stay focused, and keep practicing to improve your comprehension and confidence before the big day.

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