Unseen Passage for Class 5 – Life Stories

Reading comprehension lesson 19: Life stories · Set 410 · 12 questions

Reading tip (Follow the person): Find the person and the problem they saw. Follow what they did, in order. Find what changed in the end, and why.

1. 1.Bhimrao was a farmer in a dry village in Maharashtra. For many years, his wells dried up before summer. He watched the rainwater rush away down the hill every monsoon. One year, he dug a small pond at the low end of his field. He also planted trees along the edges to hold the soil. The pond filled with rain and slowly soaked into the ground. The next summer, his well still had water. Soon, ten other farmers in the village dug ponds too.
   
   What happened the next summer? (a) His well had water (b) His well dried up (c) He sold his farm (d) His trees died
2. 2.Dasan was a fisherman in a coastal village in Tamil Nadu. He knew the sea better than anyone in his village. One stormy night, a small boat with three young fishermen was caught in big waves. Everyone else was too scared to go out. Dasan tied a rope to his own boat and rowed into the storm. After an hour, he came back pulling the small boat behind him. All three young men were safe. Since then, Dasan has trained many villagers to swim and save lives at sea.
   
   How many young fishermen were in the small boat? (a) Three (b) Four (c) Five (d) Two
3. 3.Lalita Ben lived at the foot of a bare, rocky hill in Gujarat. When she was young, the hill had many trees, but people had cut them for firewood. Lalita Ben decided to plant one sapling every week. She carried water up the hill in two pots every morning. Goats ate many of her young plants, so she built fences of thorny branches. After twenty years, a small forest covered the hill. Birds and rabbits came back to live there. Children now call it “Lalita’s Forest”.
   
   Why had the trees on the hill gone? (a) Cut for firewood (b) Insects ate them (c) Too much rain (d) A forest fire
4. 4.Uncle Shankar has driven the school bus in Mysuru for twenty-two years. He knows the name of every child who rides with him. He keeps a notebook with all their birthdays. On each birthday, he plays a song and gives the child a toffee. He never drives fast, even when the bus is late. Once, he stopped the bus to help an old woman cross the road. Many of his first students now send their own children on his bus. They say he is part of their family.
   
   Why did he once stop the bus? (a) To fix a tyre (b) To pick up a child (c) To help an old woman (d) To buy toffees
5. 5.Bhimrao was a farmer in a dry village in Maharashtra. For many years, his wells dried up before summer. He watched the rainwater rush away down the hill every monsoon. One year, he dug a small pond at the low end of his field. He also planted trees along the edges to hold the soil. The pond filled with rain and slowly soaked into the ground. The next summer, his well still had water. Soon, ten other farmers in the village dug ponds too.
   
   What was the problem with his wells? (a) They were dirty (b) They were too deep (c) They dried up (d) They overflowed
6. 6.Gopal was a potter in a small town in West Bengal. People had started buying plastic pots, and his business was slow. One day, his son suggested making clay water bottles and lamps with painted designs. Gopal was unsure, but he tried. His son showed the new pots at a town fair. Many visitors liked them because clay keeps water cool naturally. Soon orders came from other cities. Now Gopal teaches young people in his town to make pottery.
   
   Where did his son show the pots? (a) At school (b) At a big mall (c) At a town fair (d) At a temple
7. 7.Every evening, Mohan closed his tea stall near the railway station in Kanpur. Then he spread a mat under a street light. Children who could not go to school came there to learn. Mohan had studied only up to Class 10, but he taught them reading and simple maths. He bought chalk and slates with the money he earned from selling tea. Some of his students later joined the government school nearby. One of them, Ravi, is now a teacher himself. Mohan still runs his stall and his evening class.
   
   Up to which class had Mohan studied? (a) Class 8 (b) Class 10 (c) Class 5 (d) Class 12
8. 8.Ramesh was a cobbler who sat under a neem tree near the bus stand in Nagpur. He mended shoes and bags from morning till night. He earned very little, but he saved a few coins every day in a tin box. His dream was to send his daughter, Pooja, to college. Pooja studied hard under the street lamp after helping her father. When she finished school, Ramesh opened the tin box. There was enough money for her first year at college. Today Pooja is a nurse.
   
   What was his dream? (a) Buy a big shop (b) Buy a bus (c) Move to a city (d) Send Pooja to college
9. 9.Noor Bano learned sewing from her grandmother in Lucknow. After her husband fell ill, she needed to earn money for the family. She started stitching school uniforms on an old sewing machine at home. Her work was neat, and soon many parents came to her. She taught five women from her lane to sew as well. Together, they opened a small shop called Noor Stitches. Now they make uniforms for three schools. Noor Bano says that a skill grows when it is shared.
   
   Why did she need to earn money? (a) She lost her shop (b) Her husband fell ill (c) She wanted a car (d) She moved city
10. 10.Ramesh was a cobbler who sat under a neem tree near the bus stand in Nagpur. He mended shoes and bags from morning till night. He earned very little, but he saved a few coins every day in a tin box. His dream was to send his daughter, Pooja, to college. Pooja studied hard under the street lamp after helping her father. When she finished school, Ramesh opened the tin box. There was enough money for her first year at college. Today Pooja is a nurse.
    
    Where did Ramesh sit? (a) Under a neem tree (b) Inside the bus stand (c) In a big shop (d) Under a banyan tree
11. 11.Savitri sold vegetables from a cart in the lanes of Bhopal. She could not read, so she found it hard to keep accounts. Her granddaughter Komal taught her numbers and letters every night. Within a year, Savitri could read prices and write her own accounts. She started keeping a notebook of what she sold each day. With the money she saved, she bought a bigger cart with a shade on top. Now Savitri helps other sellers learn to count and write.
    
    What did she buy with her savings? (a) A phone (b) A shop (c) A scooter (d) A bigger cart
12. 12.Dasan was a fisherman in a coastal village in Tamil Nadu. He knew the sea better than anyone in his village. One stormy night, a small boat with three young fishermen was caught in big waves. Everyone else was too scared to go out. Dasan tied a rope to his own boat and rowed into the storm. After an hour, he came back pulling the small boat behind him. All three young men were safe. Since then, Dasan has trained many villagers to swim and save lives at sea.
    
    What did Dasan tie to his boat? (a) A lamp (b) An anchor (c) A rope (d) A net

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