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Unseen Passage for Class 6 with Questions

Reading comprehension lesson 21: Science and environment passages · Set 49 · 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.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 do we see the flash before we hear the thunder?
    (a) Sound travels faster (b) Thunder is quiet (c) Clouds block sound (d) Light travels faster
  2. 2.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.

    True or false: Water vapour can be easily seen.
    (a) False (b) True
  3. 3.The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite. It goes around the Earth once in about a month. The Moon does not have its own light. It shines because it reflects light from the Sun. As it moves, we see different amounts of its lit side. These changing shapes are called phases. On a full moon night, we see the whole bright face. On a new moon night, we can hardly see it at all.

    What are the changing shapes of the Moon called?
    (a) satellites (b) eclipses (c) orbits (d) phases
  4. 4.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.

    What do mangrove roots look like?
    (a) Flat plates (b) Long ropes (c) Thin needles (d) Knobbly fingers
  5. 5.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.

    What causes day and night?
    (a) The Moon moving (b) Clouds covering Sun (c) The Earth spinning (d) The Sun switching off
  6. 6.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 stick (b) They pull together (c) They melt (d) They push away
  7. 7.Sound is made when something vibrates, or moves quickly back and forth. When you pluck a sitar string, it vibrates and makes a sound. The vibrations travel through the air to our ears. Sound can also travel through water and solids. In fact, it moves faster through solids than through air. Sound cannot travel through empty space, where there is no air. That is why space is completely silent. Loud sounds for a long time can harm our hearing.

    What can harm our hearing?
    (a) Long loud sounds (b) Quiet rooms (c) Soft music (d) Bird songs
  8. 8.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.

    Which animal eats the snake?
    (a) A deer (b) A grasshopper (c) An eagle (d) A frog
  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.

    What are the two ends of a magnet called?
    (a) edges (b) sides (c) tips (d) poles
  10. 10.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 can kill earthworms?
    (a) Dead leaves (b) Rain water (c) Natural manure (d) Chemical sprays
  11. 11.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) It strikes tall objects (b) Birds live there (c) Trees fall in rain (d) Leaves are wet
  12. 12.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) injections (b) antibodies (c) vaccines (d) germs

Answer key

  1. Light travels faster
  2. False
  3. phases
  4. Knobbly fingers
  5. The Earth spinning
  6. They push away
  7. Long loud sounds
  8. An eagle
  9. poles
  10. Chemical sprays
  11. It strikes tall objects
  12. antibodies

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