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Unseen Passage for Class 6 with Questions

Reading comprehension lesson 21: Science and environment passages · Set 54 · 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.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.

    Which word in the passage is the opposite of “heavy”?
    (a) strong (b) light (c) cloth (d) cheap
  2. 2.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 forests protect the coast from?
    (a) Hot sunshine (b) Strong waves and storms (c) Snowfall (d) Earthquakes
  3. 3.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.

    Why are earthworm tunnels useful?
    (a) They keep out rain (b) They store food (c) They hold seeds (d) Air and water get in
  4. 4.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.

    What do solar panels turn sunlight into?
    (a) smoke (b) coal (c) electricity (d) water
  5. 5.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) True (b) False
  6. 6.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 sunlight (b) From the air (c) From the leaves (d) From the soil
  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.

    What is lightning?
    (a) A burst of rain (b) A falling star (c) A gust of wind (d) A spark of electricity
  8. 8.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) Chemical sprays (c) Natural manure (d) Rain water
  9. 9.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 twenty-four hours (b) About one week (c) About one hour (d) About 365 days
  10. 10.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) Asiatic lion (b) Snow leopard (c) Royal Bengal tiger (d) Cheetah
  11. 11.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) Leaves and thorns (b) Fruits and seeds (c) Bark and wood (d) Roots and stems
  12. 12.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 snake (b) The eagle (c) The grasshopper (d) The grass

Answer key

  1. light
  2. Strong waves and storms
  3. Air and water get in
  4. electricity
  5. False
  6. From the soil
  7. A spark of electricity
  8. Chemical sprays
  9. About twenty-four hours
  10. Royal Bengal tiger
  11. Fruits and seeds
  12. The grasshopper

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