IIM B UG (B.Sc-Hons.)- Sample Paper 2026 · English Comprehension · RC passage 1: Work From Home After the Pandemic

The full passage and all 4 questions (Q1–Q4) from IIM B UG (B.Sc-Hons.)- Sample Paper 2026, with answers and solutions.

Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow. Choose the best answer to each question.

A lasting shift to work from home (WFH) is one key legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic. The share of workdays worked at home in the US increased slowly in the decades before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching 7 percent in 2019. When the economy locked down in 2020 it surged to almost 60 percent before dropping back down and stabilizing at around 28 percent in the US according to a survey. The pattern is similar in other countries. In Germany for example, roughly 5 percent of employees worked from home at least partially pre-pandemic. That share jumped to 34 percent in the early phases of the pandemic, fluctuated during the pandemic period, and has been almost flat at around 24-25 percent since early 2022. Online job vacancy postings, office occupancy statistics and evidence from national surveys point in the same direction of a new normal with stable WFH rates. Yet, the number of full paid days worked at home during COVID-19 differs widely across countries. The highest levels are in English-speaking countries and the lowest in developed Asia. Cross-country differences in WFH levels persist post-pandemic. In a sample of 34 countries, WFH levels are highest at an average of 1.4 days per week in English-speaking countries, followed by Latin American countries and South Africa (0.9 days), and then European countries (0.8 days) and Asian countries (0.7 days). Why does work from home vary so much across countries? There are several possible reasons. WFH intensity differs greatly across industries and occupations because some tasks and therefore some jobs cannot be done at home, so differences in the industry or occupation mix could lead to different amounts of WFH across countries. Additionally, differences in workplace cultures, managerial styles, and perceptions of the productivity of remote work could lead some organizations to adopt work-from-home arrangements but not others. Urban areas with higher population density also have high WFH rates, but much of that is because cities are more likely to host knowledge jobs and industries that are well-suited to remote work. The pandemic experience, especially cumulative lockdown stringency that pushed workers and firms to adapt more fully to remote work, also predicts persistent WFH.

Question 1 · RC - Specific Detail

Why, according to the passage, is rate of WFH different across countries?
  1. A
    Nature of work
  2. B
    Nature of technology
  3. C
    Nature of society
  4. D
    Nature of economy
Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option A

The passage answers its own question – 'Why does work from home vary so much across countries?' – and the first and main reason it gives is the nature of work: 'some tasks and therefore some jobs cannot be done at home, so differences in the industry or occupation mix could lead to different amounts of WFH'. Even the urban effect is explained by work: cities 'host knowledge jobs and industries that are well-suited to remote work'.

Option 2: technology is not given as a reason.
Option 3: workplace culture is mentioned, but as a reason within organisations, not as the nature of society.
Option 4: the economy as such is not given as the reason.

Shortcut: the reasons keep returning to which jobs can be done at home – the nature of work.

Hence, the answer is option 1.

Question 2 · RC - Main Idea

Which of the following captures the message of this passage?
  1. A
    WFH is based on economic factors
  2. B
    WFH has reduced after the pandemic
  3. C
    WFH was very high during the pandemic
  4. D
    WFH is not uniform across countries
Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option D

The passage shows that WFH became a lasting legacy of the pandemic, and then spends most of its length on how WFH 'differs widely across countries', giving figures by region and then the reasons ('Why does work from home vary so much across countries?').

So the central message is that WFH is not uniform across countries – option 4.

Option 1: economic factors are not the theme; the reasons given are mostly about the type of work and workplace culture.
Option 2: WFH fell from its peak, but it stabilised far above pre-pandemic levels – the passage calls it 'a lasting shift'.
Option 3: true for 2020, but only a detail.

Shortcut: the question the passage asks and answers is 'Why does WFH vary so much across countries?'

Hence, the answer is option 4.

Question 3 · RC - Inference

Which of the following is proved by this passage?
  1. A
    WFH is based on economic and social factors
  2. B
    WFH is not uniform across countries
  3. C
    WFH has changed after the pandemic
  4. D
    WFH was not very high during the pandemic
Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option C

'Proved' means shown by the evidence in the passage, not just suggested.

Option 3 is proved by the figures: in the US, WFH went from 7% of workdays in 2019 to almost 60% in 2020 and then stabilised at about 28%; in Germany from about 5% to 34% and then about 24–25%. The passage calls this 'a lasting shift' and 'a new normal'. So WFH has clearly changed after the pandemic.

Option 1 is not proved: the passage lists only 'several possible reasons', using 'could lead to'.
Option 4 is contradicted: WFH 'surged to almost 60 percent'.
Option 2 is the passage's overall message (see the previous question) rather than the point its figures prove step by step; the clearest proof the passage offers – before-and-after figures for the US and Germany – establishes the change brought by the pandemic.

Shortcut: look for the claim backed by hard before-and-after numbers.

Hence, the answer is option 3.

Question 4 · RC - Specific Detail

To what does this passage credit spread of WFH?:
  1. A
    English language
  2. B
    Technology
  3. C
    COVID Pandemic
  4. D
    Urbanisation
Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option C

The passage opens: 'A lasting shift to work from home (WFH) is one key legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic.' WFH rose slowly before the pandemic and surged during it, and 'cumulative lockdown stringency ... also predicts persistent WFH'.

So the spread of WFH is credited to the COVID pandemic – option 3.

Option 1: English-speaking countries have the highest WFH, but language is not given as the cause.
Option 2: technology is not discussed.
Option 4: urban WFH is explained by the kinds of jobs in cities, not by urbanisation itself.

Shortcut: the first sentence names the cause.

Hence, the answer is option 3.

Take this paper as a timed test
Real exam timing, instant score, rank and topic-wise analysis.

Practice timed →