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.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 gujiya? (a) A dance (b) A sweet (c) A water gun (d) A colour -
2.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.
In which state is Shimla? (a) Punjab (b) Himachal Pradesh (c) Uttarakhand (d) Sikkim -
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”.
How long did the bridge take to build? (a) One year (b) One month (c) Ten days (d) Two days -
4.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.
Which word in the passage means “worried and afraid”? (a) Loud (b) Deep (c) Friendly (d) Nervous -
5.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 water rose high (b) It was too cold (c) The school was shut (d) The road was closed -
6.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) Called the number (b) Put up posters (c) Went to a vet (d) Asked the guard -
7.Every evening, Mohan closed his tea stall near the railway station in Kanpur. Then he spread a mat under a street light. Children who could not go to school came there to learn. Mohan had studied only up to Class 10, but he taught them reading and simple maths. He bought chalk and slates with the money he earned from selling tea. Some of his students later joined the government school nearby. One of them, Ravi, is now a teacher himself. Mohan still runs his stall and his evening class.
What did Mohan sell? (a) Tea (b) Toys (c) Fruit (d) Books -
8.Ramesh was a cobbler who sat under a neem tree near the bus stand in Nagpur. He mended shoes and bags from morning till night. He earned very little, but he saved a few coins every day in a tin box. His dream was to send his daughter, Pooja, to college. Pooja studied hard under the street lamp after helping her father. When she finished school, Ramesh opened the tin box. There was enough money for her first year at college. Today Pooja is a nurse.
Where did Pooja study? (a) In a coaching class (b) Under the street lamp (c) At a friend’s house (d) In a library -
9.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 often did she plant a sapling? (a) Every week (b) Every month (c) Every year (d) Every day -
10.The library in Kiran’s school had a dusty corner full of old books. Nobody went there. Kiran asked the librarian if she could tidy it. With two friends, she wiped the shelves and sorted the books by subject. They made colourful labels and a small reading mat. They named the corner “The Treasure Shelf”. Now younger children sit there every lunch break. The librarian says it is the busiest corner of the library.
What did they name the corner? (a) The Book Mat (b) The Reading Room (c) The Treasure Shelf (d) The Dusty Corner -
11.Imran’s school started a vegetable garden behind the library. Each class got a small patch of land. Class 5 planted tomatoes, spinach and beans. Imran watered the plants every day during the lunch break. One week, insects began to eat the spinach leaves. The teacher showed them how to spray water mixed with neem. The insects went away. In winter, the class cooked a spinach soup for the whole school.
Where was the garden? (a) Behind the library (b) On the roof (c) Near the gate (d) Beside the canteen -
12.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.
What does “Meghalaya” mean? (a) Land of rivers (b) Home of tigers (c) Abode of clouds (d) Hill of flowers
Answer key
- A sweet
- Himachal Pradesh
- Ten days
- Nervous
- The water rose high
- Called the number
- Tea
- Under the street lamp
- Every week
- The Treasure Shelf
- Behind the library
- Abode of clouds
Free reading comprehension lessons, practice and worksheets at talentjr.in/reading-comprehension