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Unseen Passage for Class 5 – Mixed

Reading comprehension lesson 20: Class 5 practice test · Set 185 · 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.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 truck (c) A bus (d) A scooter
  2. 2.Ayesha’s cycle got a flat tyre on the way to school. She was far from home and the bell would ring soon. An old man at a small repair shop saw her worried face. He fixed the tyre in ten minutes. Ayesha had no money with her, but he said, “Pay me tomorrow.” She reached school just in time. The next day, she brought him the money and a box of sweets. He laughed and shared the sweets with her.

    How long did the man take to fix it?
    (a) One hour (b) Two hours (c) Five minutes (d) Ten minutes
  3. 3.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 did Lakshmi call the bridge?
    (a) The Rainy Bridge (b) The Bamboo Bridge (c) The Together Bridge (d) The School Bridge
  4. 4.Diwali is called the festival of lights. It is celebrated in October or November, on the darkest night of the month. Before Diwali, people clean their homes and buy new clothes. In the evening, rows of small clay lamps called diyas are lit everywhere. Many families draw rangoli patterns with coloured powder at the door. People share sweets with neighbours and friends. Many people now choose green celebrations without loud crackers. The lights stand for the victory of good over evil.

    What is Diwali called?
    (a) The festival of kites (b) The harvest festival (c) The festival of colours (d) The festival of lights
  5. 5.Nandini lived in a fishing village in Odisha. Her father went to sea every morning in a small boat. One evening, dark clouds gathered and the wind grew strong. Her father’s boat had not come back. Nandini ran to the lighthouse keeper, Uncle Biju. He turned on the bright lamp at the top of the tower. The light guided the boats safely to the shore. Nandini hugged her father as he stepped onto the sand.

    When did Nandini’s father go to sea?
    (a) Every night (b) Every Sunday (c) Every evening (d) Every morning
  6. 6.Pongal is a harvest festival of Tamil Nadu. It is celebrated in the middle of January and lasts for four days. Families thank the Sun God for a good harvest. They boil fresh rice with milk and jaggery in a new clay pot. When the pot boils over, people shout, “Pongalo Pongal!” The overflowing pot is a sign of plenty. On the third day, cattle are washed and decorated with paint and bells. Houses are decorated with colourful kolams at the door.

    How many days does Pongal last?
    (a) Seven (b) Ten (c) Two (d) Four
  7. 7.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 pick up a child (b) To buy toffees (c) To help an old woman (d) To fix a tyre
  8. 8.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.

    What does he keep in his notebook?
    (a) Phone numbers (b) Children’s birthdays (c) Road maps (d) Bus timings
  9. 9.Every winter, Sunil and his father go to the lake near their village in Rajasthan. Thousands of birds fly there from cold countries. Sunil counts the cranes and the ducks in his notebook. This year he saw a flamingo for the first time. Its legs were long and its feathers were pink. Sunil’s father told him never to throw stones at the birds. They watched quietly from behind the bushes. At sunset, the birds flew together across the orange sky.

    Where do the birds come from?
    (a) The sea (b) Hot deserts (c) Nearby towns (d) Cold countries
  10. 10.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.”

    Where did Sherin grow up?
    (a) Kochi (b) Mysuru (c) Mumbai (d) Chennai
  11. 11.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”.

    How long did it take for a forest to grow?
    (a) Twenty years (b) Five years (c) Fifty years (d) Two years
  12. 12.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.”

    How old was she when she became a bus driver?
    (a) Eighteen (b) Twenty-four (c) Thirty (d) Twenty

Answer key

  1. A scooter
  2. Ten minutes
  3. The Together Bridge
  4. The festival of lights
  5. Every morning
  6. Four
  7. To help an old woman
  8. Children’s birthdays
  9. Cold countries
  10. Kochi
  11. Twenty years
  12. Twenty-four

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