← Class 5 practice test lesson New set →

Unseen Passage for Class 5 – Mixed

Reading comprehension lesson 20: Class 5 practice test · Set 139 · 12 questions
TalentJR

Reading tip (Scan, then read closely): Read the passage once for the main idea. Scan for the key word of the question. Read that sentence closely and choose the option it proves.

NameDateTime takenScore ___ / 12
  1. 1.The Thar Desert lies mostly in Rajasthan, in the north-west of India. It is a land of sand dunes, thorny bushes and very little rain. Days in summer are extremely hot, but nights can be cool. Camels are useful here because they can walk on sand and go without water for days. That is why the camel is called the ship of the desert. People store rainwater in tanks and step-wells. Jaisalmer, a city of golden stone, stands in this desert.

    Which word in the passage is the opposite of “cool”?
    (a) Golden (b) Hot (c) Thorny (d) Little
  2. 2.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.

    What do animals do during floods?
    (a) Climb trees (b) Hide in caves (c) Swim to the sea (d) Move to higher ground
  3. 3.Priya’s grandfather grew mangoes in his orchard in Ratnagiri. In summer, Priya visited him during the holidays. Every morning, they walked between the trees to check the ripe fruit. Grandfather taught her to pick a mango gently with a long pole and a net. They packed the mangoes in boxes lined with hay. The hay kept the fruit from getting bruised. On the last day, Priya took a box home for her neighbours.

    For whom did Priya take a box?
    (a) Her friends (b) Her teacher (c) Her cousins (d) Her neighbours
  4. 4.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.

    Holi marks the end of which season?
    (a) Spring (b) Monsoon (c) Winter (d) Summer
  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.

    Why do families visit Shimla in summer?
    (a) To swim in the sea (b) To escape the heat (c) To see the snow (d) To see the desert
  6. 6.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.

    From whom did Noor Bano learn sewing?
    (a) A teacher (b) Her grandmother (c) Her husband (d) Her mother
  7. 7.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) Three (b) Ten (c) Two (d) Five
  8. 8.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) True (b) False
  9. 9.Kamala Devi grew up in a village in Bihar where there were no books. She learned to read only after she got married, with help from her daughter. Reading made her feel she could see the whole world. In 2005, she cleared one room of her house and filled it with old books. She asked people in the town to give away books they did not need. Soon, children came every evening to read and do homework. Today the library has over three thousand books. The village calls her “Kitab Amma”.

    Where did Kamala Devi grow up?
    (a) In a town in Assam (b) In a city in Bihar (c) In a village in Bihar (d) In Delhi
  10. 10.Lakshmi’s village had no bridge over the stream. In the rainy season, the water rose high and children could not reach school. One year, the villagers decided to build a bamboo bridge. The men cut bamboo, and the women tied it with strong ropes. The children carried water and food for the workers. In ten days, the bridge was ready. Now everyone could cross the stream even in the rains. Lakshmi called it the “Together Bridge”.

    What was the bridge made of?
    (a) Bamboo (b) Wood planks (c) Iron (d) Stone
  11. 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.

    Why did she need to earn money?
    (a) Her husband fell ill (b) She wanted a car (c) She moved city (d) She lost her shop
  12. 12.Kabir lived in a small village near a river. One morning, he saw a calf stuck in the mud on the bank. The calf was crying loudly. Kabir ran to call his uncle, who brought a long rope. Together they tied the rope around the calf and pulled gently. Slowly, the calf came out of the mud. Its mother licked it happily. Kabir’s uncle said he was proud of him.

    Where was the calf stuck?
    (a) On a tree (b) In a ditch (c) In a well (d) In the mud

Answer key

  1. Hot
  2. Move to higher ground
  3. Her neighbours
  4. Winter
  5. To escape the heat
  6. Her grandmother
  7. Five
  8. False
  9. In a village in Bihar
  10. Bamboo
  11. Her husband fell ill
  12. In the mud

Free reading comprehension lessons, practice and worksheets at talentjr.in/reading-comprehension