Unseen Passage for Class 5 – Life Stories
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.
NameDateTime takenScore ___ / 12
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1.Rekha always loved fixing things. As a girl in Indore, she opened up old radios and clocks to see how they worked. After school, she joined a training course for motor mechanics. She was the only girl in a class of thirty. At first, some customers did not trust her to repair their scooters. Rekha did not give up and worked carefully. Slowly, people saw that her repairs lasted longest. Today she runs her own garage and trains other girls.
What did some customers not trust her to do? (a) Drive a car (b) Repair their scooters (c) Teach girls (d) Run a garage -
2.Suresh worked as a guard in a factory in Ranchi. On Sundays, he coached cricket in an empty field near his home. At first only boys came. One day, a girl named Salma asked if she could play too. Suresh gave her a bat and watched her hit the ball over the fence. Soon more girls joined, and he started a girls’ team. He bought balls and pads with his own savings. Last year, his team won the district cup.
What did his team win last year? (a) The state cup (b) The world cup (c) A school prize (d) The district cup -
3.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.
Who suggested making painted bottles? (a) A teacher (b) A visitor (c) His son (d) His wife -
4.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.
Why did no one else go out? (a) They were asleep (b) They were away (c) They were too scared (d) They had no boats -
5.As a child in Kochi, Sherin loved watching the big blue buses go by. Her uncle was a bus driver, and he sometimes let her sit in the front seat. People laughed when she said she would drive a bus one day. Sherin learned to drive a scooter, then a car, and then a heavy vehicle. She practised for months and passed a difficult driving test. At twenty-four, she became the first woman bus driver in her depot. She says, “Never let anyone laugh away your dream.”
What did Sherin learn to drive first? (a) A car (b) A bus (c) A scooter (d) A truck -
6.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.
Why did he plant trees along the edges? (a) For fruit (b) To hold the soil (c) For shade (d) To sell wood -
7.Tsering Dorje was an electrician in a small village in Ladakh. In winter, the village often lost power for days. Tsering learned how to set up solar panels at a training camp in Leh. He fixed panels on the roof of the village school first. Now the classrooms have lights even on the coldest days. Then he helped every home in the village get a solar lamp. Children can study after dark. The villagers call him the man who brought the sun indoors.
Which of these happened first? (a) He lit every home (b) He went to a camp (c) Children studied late (d) He fixed school panels -
8.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.
Where did he dig the pond? (a) In the village square (b) On top of the hill (c) Near his house (d) At the field’s low end -
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.
How many women did she teach? (a) Two (b) Five (c) Three (d) Ten -
10.Suresh worked as a guard in a factory in Ranchi. On Sundays, he coached cricket in an empty field near his home. At first only boys came. One day, a girl named Salma asked if she could play too. Suresh gave her a bat and watched her hit the ball over the fence. Soon more girls joined, and he started a girls’ team. He bought balls and pads with his own savings. Last year, his team won the district cup.
Which girl asked if she could play? (a) Salma (b) Anita (c) Rekha (d) Priya -
11.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.
What was the shop called? (a) Grandma’s Shop (b) Lucknow Uniforms (c) Noor Stitches (d) Bano Tailors -
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.
How many young fishermen were in the small boat? (a) Four (b) Two (c) Five (d) Three
Answer key
- Repair their scooters
- The district cup
- His son
- They were too scared
- A scooter
- To hold the soil
- He went to a camp
- At the field’s low end
- Five
- Salma
- Noor Stitches
- Three
Free reading comprehension lessons, practice and worksheets at talentjr.in/reading-comprehension