Unseen Passage for Class 5 – Mixed
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
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1.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.
Who do people believe visits during Onam? (a) The Sun God (b) Their teacher (c) A sea king (d) King Mahabali -
2.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”.
In which year did she start the library? (a) 2010 (b) 2000 (c) 1995 (d) 2005 -
3.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.
What is sheer khurma? (a) A sweet dish (b) A new dress (c) A gift (d) A prayer -
4.Durga Puja is the biggest festival of West Bengal. It is held in autumn, usually in October. Artists spend months making clay idols of Goddess Durga. The idols are placed in large decorated tents called pandals. For five days, people visit pandals, pray and enjoy music and food. Many pandals are built to look like palaces or temples. On the last day, the idols are carried to a river and immersed in the water. People say goodbye and hope the goddess returns next year.
What happens on the last day? (a) Idols are made (b) Pandals are built (c) A fair begins (d) Idols are immersed -
5.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.
On the banks of which river is the park? (a) Ganga (b) Brahmaputra (c) Narmada (d) Yamuna -
6.Joseph Pinto was the postman of a group of hill villages in Goa for thirty years. He walked about fifteen kilometres every day, because there were no roads for vehicles. In the rains, he wrapped the letters in plastic to keep them dry. Many old people could not read, so he read their letters aloud to them. He also wrote replies for them. When he retired, the villagers held a party under the big mango tree. They gave him a walking stick carved with all their names.
How did he help old people who could not read? (a) Cooked for them (b) Taught them maths (c) Gave them money (d) Read letters to them -
7.Durga Puja is the biggest festival of West Bengal. It is held in autumn, usually in October. Artists spend months making clay idols of Goddess Durga. The idols are placed in large decorated tents called pandals. For five days, people visit pandals, pray and enjoy music and food. Many pandals are built to look like palaces or temples. On the last day, the idols are carried to a river and immersed in the water. People say goodbye and hope the goddess returns next year.
Durga Puja is the biggest festival of which state? (a) Punjab (b) Gujarat (c) Kerala (d) West Bengal -
8.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 -
9.Zoya was nervous about singing at the school function. Her hands shook whenever she practised in front of others. Her music teacher told her to look at one friendly face in the crowd. On the big day, Zoya walked onto the stage. She found her grandmother sitting in the front row. Grandma smiled and nodded. Zoya took a deep breath and began to sing. When she finished, the hall filled with loud clapping.
Why did Zoya’s hands shake? (a) She was ill (b) She was cold (c) She was nervous (d) She was angry -
10.Riya and her brother found a lost puppy outside their building in Pune. It was wet and shivering after the rain. Riya wrapped it in an old towel. Her brother brought a bowl of warm milk. The puppy had a blue collar with a phone number on it. Their mother called the number. An hour later, a young girl came running to their door. She hugged the puppy and thanked them again and again.
What did Riya’s brother bring? (a) A towel (b) Some biscuits (c) Warm milk (d) A blanket -
11.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.
How did he pay for balls and pads? (a) With his own savings (b) The factory paid (c) A school gave money (d) The girls paid -
12.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”.
Why could children not reach school in the rainy season? (a) The road was closed (b) The school was shut (c) The water rose high (d) It was too cold
Answer key
- King Mahabali
- 2005
- A sweet dish
- Idols are immersed
- Brahmaputra
- Read letters to them
- West Bengal
- Ten minutes
- She was nervous
- Warm milk
- With his own savings
- The water rose high
Free reading comprehension lessons, practice and worksheets at talentjr.in/reading-comprehension