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Unseen Passage for Class 5 – Mixed

Reading comprehension lesson 20: Class 5 practice test · Set 5 · 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.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 lost her shop (c) She moved city (d) She wanted a car
  2. 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”.

    Where did Kamala Devi grow up?
    (a) In a town in Assam (b) In a village in Bihar (c) In a city in Bihar (d) In Delhi
  3. 3.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) Five (c) Two (d) Three
  4. 4.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.

    What is a pookalam?
    (a) A new dress (b) A boat race (c) A big meal (d) A carpet of petals
  5. 5.Baisakhi is a harvest festival celebrated mainly in Punjab. It falls on 13 or 14 April every year. By this time, the wheat crop is ripe and ready to be cut. Farmers thank God for a good harvest. For Sikhs, the day is also important because the Khalsa was founded on Baisakhi. People visit gurdwaras and share a free meal called langar. Men and women dance the bhangra and giddha to the beat of the dhol. Fairs with swings and food stalls are held in many villages.

    In which state is Baisakhi mainly celebrated?
    (a) Kerala (b) Assam (c) Goa (d) Punjab
  6. 6.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 prayer (c) A gift (d) A new dress
  7. 7.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.

    What happened to Ayesha’s cycle?
    (a) It was stolen (b) Its bell fell off (c) Its chain broke (d) It got a flat tyre
  8. 8.Grandma Sushila could not read the small letters in her newspaper. Her glasses had broken last week. Her grandson Dev had an idea. Every morning before school, he read the news aloud to her. Grandma listened and asked many questions. Dev learned new words and began to read faster. After a month, Grandma got new glasses. But she still asked Dev to read to her on Sundays.

    Why could Grandma not read the newspaper?
    (a) Her glasses broke (b) She was sleepy (c) She was too busy (d) The paper was late
  9. 9.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) Five minutes (c) Two hours (d) Ten minutes
  10. 10.Every Saturday, the children of Green Lane Colony cleaned their park. Some picked up plastic wrappers. Others swept the dry leaves into heaps. Gurpreet made a big sign that said, “Keep Our Park Clean.” Her friend Aditya painted the old benches blue. Soon, people stopped throwing litter in the park. The colony secretary gave the children a basket of fruit. Now the park is the cleanest in the town.

    What did Gurpreet make?
    (a) A big sign (b) A bench (c) A dustbin (d) A basket
  11. 11.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.

    What is the bonfire called?
    (a) Pichkari (b) Gujiya (c) Gulal (d) Holika Dahan
  12. 12.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.

    How did they find the owner?
    (a) Asked the guard (b) Went to a vet (c) Called the number (d) Put up posters

Answer key

  1. Her husband fell ill
  2. In a village in Bihar
  3. Three
  4. A carpet of petals
  5. Punjab
  6. A sweet dish
  7. It got a flat tyre
  8. Her glasses broke
  9. Ten minutes
  10. A big sign
  11. Holika Dahan
  12. Called the number

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