Unseen Passage for Class 5 – Festivals and Places

Reading comprehension lesson 18: Festivals and places of India · Set 810 · 12 questions

Reading tip (Facts by place and time): Find the place, the time of year and what people do. Answer from the passage, even if you know more about it. For word meanings, read the sentence around the word.

1. 1.Eid ul-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims at the end of Ramzan, the month of fasting. During Ramzan, people do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. Eid begins when the new moon is seen in the sky. On Eid morning, people wear new clothes and offer special prayers. Families give food and money to the poor. Friends hug one another and say “Eid Mubarak”. A sweet dish called sheer khurma is made with milk, vermicelli and dates. Children receive gifts called Eidi from elders.
   
   When is Eid ul-Fitr celebrated? (a) At the start of Ramzan (b) In the middle of winter (c) At the end of Ramzan (d) On a full moon
2. 2.Baisakhi is a harvest festival celebrated mainly in Punjab. It falls on 13 or 14 April every year. By this time, the wheat crop is ripe and ready to be cut. Farmers thank God for a good harvest. For Sikhs, the day is also important because the Khalsa was founded on Baisakhi. People visit gurdwaras and share a free meal called langar. Men and women dance the bhangra and giddha to the beat of the dhol. Fairs with swings and food stalls are held in many villages.
   
   To the beat of which drum do people dance? (a) Mridangam (b) Dhol (c) Damru (d) Tabla
3. 3.Ganesh Chaturthi is a ten-day festival, celebrated with great joy in Maharashtra. It usually falls in August or September. Families bring home clay idols of Lord Ganesha, who has the head of an elephant. The idol is decorated with flowers and worshipped every day. A sweet dumpling called modak is offered to him. Many neighbourhoods set up large public pandals. On the last day, the idols are taken in processions and immersed in water. Many families now choose clay idols that do not harm rivers.
   
   Why do many families choose clay idols now? (a) They are cheaper (b) They shine more (c) They do not harm rivers (d) They are bigger
4. 4.The backwaters of Kerala are a network of calm lakes, rivers and canals near the sea. Coconut palms line their banks. Many villages lie along the water, and people use boats to go to school, work and market. Houseboats called kettuvallams carry visitors slowly along the canals. Long ago, these boats carried rice and spices. Ducks swim beside the boats, and fishermen throw their nets. Alappuzha is one of the best places to see the backwaters. The quiet waters make it a peaceful place to visit.
   
   What did these boats carry long ago? (a) Rice and spices (b) Coal (c) Cars (d) Cattle
5. 5.Shimla is a hill station in Himachal Pradesh. It is built on the slopes of green hills covered with pine and deodar trees. In summer, the weather is cool, so many families visit to escape the heat of the plains. In winter, snow often covers the roofs and roads. A small toy train climbs up to Shimla from Kalka. It passes through more than a hundred tunnels. The main street, called the Mall Road, has no cars. People walk there and enjoy the views of the mountains.
   
   From where does the toy train climb to Shimla? (a) Kalka (b) Manali (c) Amritsar (d) Delhi
6. 6.Meghalaya is a hilly state in north-east India. Its name means “the abode of clouds”. Some places in Meghalaya get more rain than almost anywhere else on Earth. In the villages near Cherrapunji, people have made living root bridges. They guide the roots of rubber fig trees across streams. Over many years, the roots grow thick and strong enough to walk on. Some bridges are hundreds of years old. Unlike wooden bridges, they grow stronger with time.
   
   True or false: Meghalaya gets very little rain. (a) False (b) True
7. 7.Kaziranga National Park is in Assam, on the banks of the Brahmaputra river. It is famous for the one-horned rhinoceros. More than half of all one-horned rhinos in the world live here. The park has tall elephant grass, swamps and forests. Tigers, wild elephants and wild buffaloes also live in the park. Every year, floods cover parts of the park, and animals move to higher ground. Visitors can see the animals from an open jeep.
   
   Kaziranga is famous for which animal? (a) One-horned rhinoceros (b) Camel (c) Asiatic lion (d) Snow leopard
8. 8.Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala. It falls in August or September, after the monsoon. People believe that the kind King Mahabali visits his people at this time. To welcome him, families make pookalam, a carpet of flower petals, in front of their homes. A grand meal called sadya is served on a banana leaf. It has more than twenty dishes. Snake boat races are held on the rivers. Everyone wears new clothes, and the whole state is full of joy.
   
   On what is sadya served? (a) A banana leaf (b) A coconut shell (c) A clay pot (d) A steel plate
9. 9.Ganesh Chaturthi is a ten-day festival, celebrated with great joy in Maharashtra. It usually falls in August or September. Families bring home clay idols of Lord Ganesha, who has the head of an elephant. The idol is decorated with flowers and worshipped every day. A sweet dumpling called modak is offered to him. Many neighbourhoods set up large public pandals. On the last day, the idols are taken in processions and immersed in water. Many families now choose clay idols that do not harm rivers.
   
   What is a modak? (a) A sweet dumpling (b) A clay idol (c) A drum (d) A flower
10. 10.Kaziranga National Park is in Assam, on the banks of the Brahmaputra river. It is famous for the one-horned rhinoceros. More than half of all one-horned rhinos in the world live here. The park has tall elephant grass, swamps and forests. Tigers, wild elephants and wild buffaloes also live in the park. Every year, floods cover parts of the park, and animals move to higher ground. Visitors can see the animals from an open jeep.
    
    Kaziranga is in which state? (a) Bihar (b) Assam (c) Kerala (d) Gujarat
11. 11.Holi is the festival of colours, usually celebrated in March. It marks the end of winter and the coming of spring. On the night before Holi, people light a bonfire called Holika Dahan. The bonfire stands for good winning over evil. Next morning, friends throw coloured powder, called gulal, at one another. Children fill water guns, called pichkaris, with coloured water. Many people now use colours made from flowers, which are safe for the skin. Later, everyone washes up and shares sweets like gujiya.
    
    What is gujiya? (a) A water gun (b) A sweet (c) A colour (d) A dance
12. 12.Baisakhi is a harvest festival celebrated mainly in Punjab. It falls on 13 or 14 April every year. By this time, the wheat crop is ripe and ready to be cut. Farmers thank God for a good harvest. For Sikhs, the day is also important because the Khalsa was founded on Baisakhi. People visit gurdwaras and share a free meal called langar. Men and women dance the bhangra and giddha to the beat of the dhol. Fairs with swings and food stalls are held in many villages.
    
    Which crop is ready at Baisakhi? (a) Tea (b) Wheat (c) Cotton (d) Rice

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