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Unseen Passage for Class 6 – Stories

Reading comprehension lesson 23: Stories with characters · Set 780 · 12 questions
TalentJR

Reading tip (Why did they do it?): Find the main character and the problem. For “why”, find the reason written in the story. For feelings, look for words like proud, worried or ashamed.

NameDateTime takenScore ___ / 12
  1. 1.Sana lived in a flat in Mumbai with no garden. She longed to grow her own vegetables. Her father found some old paint buckets and filled them with soil. Sana planted chillies, spinach and tomatoes on the terrace. She watered them every morning before school. Pigeons pecked at the seedlings, so she covered them with a net. In two months, she picked her first spinach leaves. Her mother cooked them for dinner, and Sana thought they tasted better than any others.

    What did her father fill with soil?
    (a) Wooden boxes (b) Plastic bags (c) Clay pots (d) Old paint buckets
  2. 2.On a stormy evening, Riya heard a soft whimper outside the gate. A tiny puppy was shivering in the rain. Her mother was worried that it might be ill. Still, they dried it with an old towel and gave it warm milk. The next day, they took it to the animal doctor. The doctor said the puppy was healthy, just hungry and cold. Riya named him Bijli because he arrived during a thunderstorm. Now Bijli follows her everywhere.

    What did Riya hear outside the gate?
    (a) A knock (b) A car horn (c) A soft whimper (d) A loud bark
  3. 3.On a stormy evening, Riya heard a soft whimper outside the gate. A tiny puppy was shivering in the rain. Her mother was worried that it might be ill. Still, they dried it with an old towel and gave it warm milk. The next day, they took it to the animal doctor. The doctor said the puppy was healthy, just hungry and cold. Riya named him Bijli because he arrived during a thunderstorm. Now Bijli follows her everywhere.

    Why was her mother worried?
    (a) The puppy might be ill (b) It was too big (c) It might bite (d) It was too noisy
  4. 4.Joseph’s grandfather wanted to video call his daughter in Canada. But he found the smartphone confusing. Joseph, who was twelve, offered to teach him. Every evening, they practised for fifteen minutes. Joseph wrote the steps in big letters on a card. Grandfather made mistakes but never gave up. After two weeks, he made his first call on his own. His face lit up when his daughter appeared on the screen.

    How old was Joseph?
    (a) Ten (b) Twelve (c) Fifteen (d) Eight
  5. 5.Nisha loved the small river behind her town. Last summer, she noticed it was full of plastic bottles and bags. The fish she used to watch had vanished. She made posters and asked her classmates to help. Twenty students came on the first Sunday. They filled forty sacks with rubbish in one morning. The town council then put up bins and a sign that read, “Keep our river clean.” By the next monsoon, Nisha spotted fish again.

    How many sacks did they fill with rubbish?
    (a) Ten (b) Forty (c) Twenty (d) A hundred
  6. 6.Priya was chosen to recite a poem at the Republic Day function. She practised it perfectly at home. But on the day, when she saw the huge crowd, her mind went blank. Her hands trembled and her throat felt dry. Then she spotted her friend Joel in the front row, smiling and nodding. Priya took a deep breath and began again. This time, the words flowed easily. The audience clapped loudly when she finished.

    Who was smiling in the front row?
    (a) Her brother (b) Her teacher (c) Her mother (d) Joel
  7. 7.Kiran’s village had no library. She loved reading but had only four books of her own. One day, she asked her neighbours to share books they had already read. Within a month, she had collected over a hundred books. Her uncle gave her an empty room in his shop to keep them. Kiran made cards to note who borrowed which book. Soon, children came every evening to read. The panchayat later gave money for more shelves.

    Where were the books kept?
    (a) Under a tree (b) In the temple (c) A room in uncle’s shop (d) In her school
  8. 8.Every evening, Asha saw Kamala Aunty struggle up the stairs with heavy bags. Kamala Aunty lived alone on the fourth floor. Asha started carrying her bags whenever she saw her. In return, Kamala Aunty taught Asha to knit. Over the winter, Asha knitted a scarf for her baby cousin. Kamala Aunty said that Asha had brought light into her lonely days. Asha felt that she had gained a grandmother. A small kindness had grown into a big friendship.

    On which floor did Kamala Aunty live?
    (a) The ground floor (b) The fourth floor (c) The first floor (d) The tenth floor
  9. 9.Arjun was always in a hurry. One morning, he took a shortcut across the railway tracks to reach school early. A signalman shouted at him to stop. Seconds later, a goods train thundered past. Arjun’s legs were shaking as he stepped back. The signalman explained that trains are much faster than they look. From that day, Arjun always used the footbridge. He now says it is better to be late than to be sorry.

    What does “thundered past” tell us about the train?
    (a) It was empty (b) It was loud and fast (c) It stopped (d) It was slow
  10. 10.Imran’s father grew tomatoes on a small farm. One year, there were too many tomatoes, and prices fell very low. Many farmers threw away their crop. Imran had an idea. With his mother’s help, he turned the extra tomatoes into ketchup and chutney. They sold the jars at the weekly market in their town. Soon, shopkeepers began ordering more. That year, the family earned more than ever before.

    Why did prices fall that year?
    (a) Too many tomatoes (b) A storm hit (c) The market closed (d) Tomatoes were rotten
  11. 11.A new girl named Lakshmi joined Tenzin’s class in July. She had moved from a village in Tamil Nadu and spoke little Hindi. At lunch, she sat alone under the neem tree. Some children laughed at her accent. Tenzin remembered his own first day in Delhi, when he too had felt lost. He sat beside her and shared his momos. Lakshmi taught him a few Tamil words in return. By August, the two were the best of friends.

    Where did Lakshmi sit alone at lunch?
    (a) In the classroom (b) In the library (c) Under the neem tree (d) Near the gate
  12. 12.Arjun was always in a hurry. One morning, he took a shortcut across the railway tracks to reach school early. A signalman shouted at him to stop. Seconds later, a goods train thundered past. Arjun’s legs were shaking as he stepped back. The signalman explained that trains are much faster than they look. From that day, Arjun always used the footbridge. He now says it is better to be late than to be sorry.

    What happened seconds later?
    (a) It started raining (b) The bell rang (c) A goods train passed (d) A bus arrived

Answer key

  1. Old paint buckets
  2. A soft whimper
  3. The puppy might be ill
  4. Twelve
  5. Forty
  6. Joel
  7. A room in uncle’s shop
  8. The fourth floor
  9. It was loud and fast
  10. Too many tomatoes
  11. Under the neem tree
  12. A goods train passed

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