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Unseen Passage for Class 6 with Questions

Reading comprehension lesson 21: Science and environment passages · Set 113 · 12 questions
TalentJR

Reading tip (Cause and effect): Find the topic of the passage in the first sentence. Look for cause-and-effect words: because, so, as a result. Work out new science words from the sentence that explains them.

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  1. 1.A vaccine helps the body fight a disease before the disease attacks. It contains a weak or harmless form of a germ. The body’s defence system learns to recognise it. It then makes special fighters called antibodies. Later, if the real germ enters, the body knows how to beat it quickly. Children in India get vaccines against polio, measles and other diseases. Most vaccines are given as injections, but the polio vaccine can be given as drops. Vaccines have saved millions of lives.

    What special fighters does the body make?
    (a) germs (b) injections (c) vaccines (d) antibodies
  2. 2.Every winter, thousands of birds fly to India from colder lands. These travellers are called migratory birds. Many of them come from Siberia and Central Asia. They escape the freezing cold and find food in our lakes and wetlands. Bharatpur in Rajasthan and Chilika Lake in Odisha are famous places to see them. Flamingos, cranes and ducks are among the visitors. In spring, the birds fly back to breed. Protecting wetlands keeps their winter homes safe.

    In which state is Chilika Lake?
    (a) Kerala (b) Odisha (c) Rajasthan (d) Punjab
  3. 3.Mangroves are trees that grow in salty water along the coast. Their roots stick out of the mud like knobbly fingers. These roots help the trees breathe in wet, airless soil. Mangrove forests protect the coast from strong waves and storms. They also give shelter to fish, crabs and birds. The Sundarbans, shared by India and Bangladesh, is the largest mangrove forest in the world. It is home to the Royal Bengal tiger. Cutting mangroves leaves the coast open to damage.

    Which big cat lives in the Sundarbans?
    (a) Royal Bengal tiger (b) Cheetah (c) Snow leopard (d) Asiatic lion
  4. 4.Green plants make their own food. This process is called photosynthesis. Leaves take in carbon dioxide from the air through tiny holes. Roots take up water from the soil. A green substance in the leaves, called chlorophyll, traps sunlight. Using the energy of sunlight, the leaf turns water and carbon dioxide into sugar. Oxygen is given out into the air. Animals and people breathe in this oxygen.

    Where do the roots take up water from?
    (a) From the air (b) From sunlight (c) From the leaves (d) From the soil
  5. 5.In many Indian cities, people face water shortages in summer. Rainwater harvesting is one simple answer. Rain falling on rooftops is collected through pipes. It is then stored in tanks or sent into the ground through pits. Water sent into the ground raises the level of water in wells. A single roof can collect thousands of litres in one monsoon. Some states have made rainwater harvesting compulsory for new buildings. Saving rain today means more water tomorrow.

    How is rain from rooftops collected?
    (a) With nets (b) By pumps (c) Through pipes (d) In buckets
  6. 6.The Sun heats water in seas, rivers and lakes. The water turns into an invisible gas called water vapour. This change is called evaporation. High in the sky, the vapour cools and turns into tiny drops of water. These drops join together to form clouds. When the drops become too heavy, they fall as rain. This is called precipitation. Rainwater flows back into rivers and seas, and the cycle begins again.

    Why do the drops fall as rain?
    (a) The Sun pulls them (b) They become too heavy (c) The wind blows them (d) They become too hot
  7. 7.Lightning is a giant spark of electricity in the sky. It happens when electric charges build up inside storm clouds. A flash of lightning heats the air around it very quickly. The hot air expands with a loud bang, which we hear as thunder. Light travels much faster than sound. That is why we see the flash before we hear the thunder. During a thunderstorm, stay indoors and away from tall trees. Standing under a tree is not safe, as lightning often strikes tall objects.

    Why is standing under a tree unsafe?
    (a) Leaves are wet (b) It strikes tall objects (c) Trees fall in rain (d) Birds live there
  8. 8.Every winter, thousands of birds fly to India from colder lands. These travellers are called migratory birds. Many of them come from Siberia and Central Asia. They escape the freezing cold and find food in our lakes and wetlands. Bharatpur in Rajasthan and Chilika Lake in Odisha are famous places to see them. Flamingos, cranes and ducks are among the visitors. In spring, the birds fly back to breed. Protecting wetlands keeps their winter homes safe.

    What does the passage call these travelling birds?
    (a) Migratory birds (b) Wild birds (c) Song birds (d) Water birds
  9. 9.A magnet attracts things made of iron, nickel or cobalt. Every magnet has two ends called poles: a north pole and a south pole. If you bring two north poles together, they push each other away. A north pole and a south pole pull towards each other. In short, like poles repel and unlike poles attract. A magnet hung freely always points north and south. Sailors once used this idea to make the compass. Magnets also work inside fans, speakers and fridge doors.

    Which way does a freely hung magnet point?
    (a) North and south (b) Up and down (c) East and west (d) Only east
  10. 10.The Sun heats water in seas, rivers and lakes. The water turns into an invisible gas called water vapour. This change is called evaporation. High in the sky, the vapour cools and turns into tiny drops of water. These drops join together to form clouds. When the drops become too heavy, they fall as rain. This is called precipitation. Rainwater flows back into rivers and seas, and the cycle begins again.

    What do the tiny drops join together to form?
    (a) snow (b) clouds (c) lakes (d) rivers
  11. 11.A volcano is an opening in the Earth’s crust. Deep under the ground, rocks are so hot that they melt. This melted rock is called magma. When pressure builds up, magma pushes its way to the surface. Once it comes out, it is called lava. Lava can be hotter than 1,000 degrees Celsius. When it cools, it hardens into new rock. India’s only active volcano is on Barren Island in the Andaman Sea.

    Where is India’s only active volcano?
    (a) Sundarbans (b) Barren Island (c) Ladakh (d) Kerala
  12. 12.Earthworms are called the farmer’s friends. They dig tunnels as they move through the soil. These tunnels let air and water reach plant roots. Earthworms eat dead leaves and bits of rotting plants. Their waste, called castings, makes the soil rich. A field with many earthworms is usually healthy. Chemical sprays can kill these helpful creatures. So many farmers now use natural manure instead.

    What do earthworms eat?
    (a) Live insects (b) Fresh fruit (c) Dead leaves (d) Grain seeds

Answer key

  1. antibodies
  2. Odisha
  3. Royal Bengal tiger
  4. From the soil
  5. Through pipes
  6. They become too heavy
  7. It strikes tall objects
  8. Migratory birds
  9. North and south
  10. clouds
  11. Barren Island
  12. Dead leaves

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