Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - comprehension

~ n 1 the ability to understand something  (a reasonable comprehension of the subject | beyond (sb's) comprehension (=impossible to understand))  (How she managed to pass her exam after doing so little work is beyond my comprehension.) 2 knowledge of what a situation is really like  (Most politicians have no real comprehension of what it is like to be poor.) 3 an exercise given to students to test how well they understand written or spoken language  (reading/listening comprehension (=a piece of written or spoken language which tests how well students understand))