Unseen Passage for Class 6 with Questions

Reading comprehension lesson 21: Science and environment passages · Set 121 · 12 questions

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.

1. 1.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.
   
   What happens when two north poles are brought together? (a) They push away (b) They melt (c) They pull together (d) They stick
2. 2.Bees visit flowers to collect sweet nectar. While they feed, yellow dust called pollen sticks to their hairy bodies. When a bee flies to the next flower, some pollen rubs off. This carrying of pollen is called pollination. Pollination helps plants make fruits and seeds. Mangoes, apples and many vegetables depend on it. Without bees, farmers would harvest far less food. So bees are tiny helpers of every farm.
   
   What does pollination help plants make? (a) Bark and wood (b) Leaves and thorns (c) Fruits and seeds (d) Roots and stems
3. 3.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.
   
   Why do the birds fly back in spring? (a) To find snow (b) To rest (c) To eat fish (d) To breed
4. 4.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.
   
   When do these birds come to India? (a) Every spring (b) During the monsoon (c) Every winter (d) Every summer
5. 5.Plastic is cheap, light and strong. But most plastic does not rot away like leaves or fruit peels. A plastic bag may stay in the soil for hundreds of years. Plastic thrown on the road often blocks drains during the monsoon. Cows and other animals sometimes swallow plastic with food scraps. In the sea, turtles can mistake floating bags for jellyfish. We can help by carrying cloth bags and saying no to straws. Sorting dry and wet waste at home also helps.
   
   How long may a plastic bag stay in the soil? (a) Ten minutes (b) A few days (c) Hundreds of years (d) One month
6. 6.Every living thing needs food for energy. Plants make their own food using sunlight. A grasshopper eats grass. A frog eats the grasshopper. A snake eats the frog, and an eagle eats the snake. This link of who eats whom is called a food chain. Every food chain begins with a green plant. If one link disappears, the whole chain is affected.
   
   What does the frog eat? (a) The grass (b) The snake (c) The eagle (d) The grasshopper
7. 7.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) Up and down (b) North and south (c) East and west (d) Only east
8. 8.The Earth spins like a top on an imaginary line called its axis. One full spin takes about twenty-four hours. As the Earth spins, one half faces the Sun and has day. The other half faces away and has night. The Earth also moves around the Sun. One trip around the Sun takes about 365 days, which is one year. The tilt of the Earth’s axis gives us seasons. So spinning gives us day and night, while the tilt and the yearly trip give us seasons.
   
   How long does one full spin take? (a) About one hour (b) About 365 days (c) About one week (d) About twenty-four hours
9. 9.Bees visit flowers to collect sweet nectar. While they feed, yellow dust called pollen sticks to their hairy bodies. When a bee flies to the next flower, some pollen rubs off. This carrying of pollen is called pollination. Pollination helps plants make fruits and seeds. Mangoes, apples and many vegetables depend on it. Without bees, farmers would harvest far less food. So bees are tiny helpers of every farm.
   
   What is the yellow dust on flowers called? (a) wax (b) nectar (c) pollen (d) honey
10. 10.The Sun gives us a huge amount of energy every day. Solar panels can turn sunlight into electricity. They are made of special cells that work when light falls on them. Many homes in India now have solar panels on their roofs. Some villages use solar lamps after dark. Solar energy does not make smoke, so it keeps the air clean. Unlike coal, it will never run out. However, panels make less power on cloudy days.
    
    When do panels make less power? (a) In summer (b) On cloudy days (c) At noon (d) On sunny days
11. 11.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.
    
    When do people in cities face water shortages? (a) In summer (b) At night (c) In the monsoon (d) In winter
12. 12.The Sun gives us a huge amount of energy every day. Solar panels can turn sunlight into electricity. They are made of special cells that work when light falls on them. Many homes in India now have solar panels on their roofs. Some villages use solar lamps after dark. Solar energy does not make smoke, so it keeps the air clean. Unlike coal, it will never run out. However, panels make less power on cloudy days.
    
    True or false: Solar energy will run out one day. (a) True (b) False

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