Test: Reading Comprehension - 5 - Class 8 MCQ

1. There was once a poor old woman who lived in a village. She bought some beans and was getting ready to cook them. So she made a fire, and to make the fire burn better she put in a handful of straw. As she was putting the beans into the pot, one of them escaped unnoticed and fell to the floor, where it landed beside a piece of straw. A little while later, a burning piece of coal jumped from a fire and landed not too far from the other two.

2. The straw spoke up and said, “Dear friend where have you come from?” The coal replied, “Luckily for me I jumped out of the fire. It took a great deal of effort, but if I hadn’t done it, death  would have been certain; I’d have burnt to ashes.” The bean said, “I’ve come off with whole skin too, but if the old lady had got me into the pot, I’d have been cooked like my friends.”

3. “What do you think would have happened to me?” said the straw. “The old women had sent all my brothers up in fire and smoke; she took sixty at a time and did them to death. Luckily I slipped through her fingers.”

4. “But what are we to do now?” asked the coal. “Since we’ve been lucky enough to escape death”, said the bean, “I think we should get together like good friends and set out for foreign lands before anything dangerous happens again.”

5. The other liked the idea, and they stared out together. Soon they came to a brook. There was no bridge and there seemed to be no way of getting to the other side. The straw had a good idea. He said, “I’ll lie down across the brook and you too can walk over me as if were a bridge.” So the straw lay down from bank to bank, and the coal, who was very excited and thoughtless, walked onto the newly built straw bridge.

6. But when he got to the middle and saw the water below, he got scared and he didn’t have the courage to go any farther. The straw caught fire, broke in the middle, and fell into the brook. The coal slipped in after him, hit the water, and was dead. The bean, who was careful, had stayed on the bank. He couldn’t help laughing when he saw what had happened. He laughed and laughed until finally he burst. He would have died as well, if a travelling tailor hadn’t stopped to rest by the brook. The tailor took pity on the bean, took out his needle and thread and stitched up the bean. The bean thanked him kindly, but as the tailor had used black thread, bean has had a black seam ever since.

On the basis of your reading of the passage, choose the correct option:

Q. How did the bean get a black seam?

1. There was once a poor old woman who lived in a village. She bought some beans and was getting ready to cook them. So she made a fire, and to make the fire burn better she put in a handful of straw. As she was putting the beans into the pot, one of them escaped unnoticed and fell to the floor, where it landed beside a piece of straw. A little while later, a burning piece of coal jumped from a fire and landed not too far from the other two.

2. The straw spoke up and said, “Dear friend where have you come from?” The coal replied, “Luckily for me I jumped out of the fire. It took a great deal of effort, but if I hadn’t done it, death  would have been certain; I’d have burnt to ashes.” The bean said, “I’ve come off with whole skin too, but if the old lady had got me into the pot, I’d have been cooked like my friends.”

3. “What do you think would have happened to me?” said the straw. “The old women had sent all my brothers up in fire and smoke; she took sixty at a time and did them to death. Luckily I slipped through her fingers.”

4. “But what are we to do now?” asked the coal. “Since we’ve been lucky enough to escape death”, said the bean, “I think we should get together like good friends and set out for foreign lands before anything dangerous happens again.”

5. The other liked the idea, and they stared out together. Soon they came to a brook. There was no bridge and there seemed to be no way of getting to the other side. The straw had a good idea. He said, “I’ll lie down across the brook and you too can walk over me as if were a bridge.” So the straw lay down from bank to bank, and the coal, who was very excited and thoughtless, walked onto the newly built straw bridge.

6. But when he got to the middle and saw the water below, he got scared and he didn’t have the courage to go any farther. The straw caught fire, broke in the middle, and fell into the brook. The coal slipped in after him, hit the water, and was dead. The bean, who was careful, had stayed on the bank. He couldn’t help laughing when he saw what had happened. He laughed and laughed until finally he burst. He would have died as well, if a travelling tailor hadn’t stopped to rest by the brook. The tailor took pity on the bean, took out his needle and thread and stitched up the bean. The bean thanked him kindly, but as the tailor had used black thread, bean has had a black seam ever since.

On the basis of your reading of the passage, choose the correct option:

Find words from the options given in brackets that mean the following?

Q. Without being seen (Para 1) 

1. There was once a poor old woman who lived in a village. She bought some beans and was getting ready to cook them. So she made a fire, and to make the fire burn better she put in a handful of straw. As she was putting the beans into the pot, one of them escaped unnoticed and fell to the floor, where it landed beside a piece of straw. A little while later, a burning piece of coal jumped from a fire and landed not too far from the other two.

2. The straw spoke up and said, “Dear friend where have you come from?” The coal replied, “Luckily for me I jumped out of the fire. It took a great deal of effort, but if I hadn’t done it, death  would have been certain; I’d have burnt to ashes.” The bean said, “I’ve come off with whole skin too, but if the old lady had got me into the pot, I’d have been cooked like my friends.”

3. “What do you think would have happened to me?” said the straw. “The old women had sent all my brothers up in fire and smoke; she took sixty at a time and did them to death. Luckily I slipped through her fingers.”

4. “But what are we to do now?” asked the coal. “Since we’ve been lucky enough to escape death”, said the bean, “I think we should get together like good friends and set out for foreign lands before anything dangerous happens again.”

5. The other liked the idea, and they stared out together. Soon they came to a brook. There was no bridge and there seemed to be no way of getting to the other side. The straw had a good idea. He said, “I’ll lie down across the brook and you too can walk over me as if were a bridge.” So the straw lay down from bank to bank, and the coal, who was very excited and thoughtless, walked onto the newly built straw bridge.

6. But when he got to the middle and saw the water below, he got scared and he didn’t have the courage to go any farther. The straw caught fire, broke in the middle, and fell into the brook. The coal slipped in after him, hit the water, and was dead. The bean, who was careful, had stayed on the bank. He couldn’t help laughing when he saw what had happened. He laughed and laughed until finally he burst. He would have died as well, if a travelling tailor hadn’t stopped to rest by the brook. The tailor took pity on the bean, took out his needle and thread and stitched up the bean. The bean thanked him kindly, but as the tailor had used black thread, bean has had a black seam ever since.

On the basis of your reading of the passage, choose the correct option:

Q. Find words from the options given in brackets that mean the following?

Complete total (Para 2) 

1. There was once a poor old woman who lived in a village. She bought some beans and was getting ready to cook them. So she made a fire, and to make the fire burn better she put in a handful of straw. As she was putting the beans into the pot, one of them escaped unnoticed and fell to the floor, where it landed beside a piece of straw. A little while later, a burning piece of coal jumped from a fire and landed not too far from the other two.

2. The straw spoke up and said, “Dear friend where have you come from?” The coal replied, “Luckily for me I jumped out of the fire. It took a great deal of effort, but if I hadn’t done it, death  would have been certain; I’d have burnt to ashes.” The bean said, “I’ve come off with whole skin too, but if the old lady had got me into the pot, I’d have been cooked like my friends.”

3. “What do you think would have happened to me?” said the straw. “The old women had sent all my brothers up in fire and smoke; she took sixty at a time and did them to death. Luckily I slipped through her fingers.”

4. “But what are we to do now?” asked the coal. “Since we’ve been lucky enough to escape death”, said the bean, “I think we should get together like good friends and set out for foreign lands before anything dangerous happens again.”

5. The other liked the idea, and they stared out together. Soon they came to a brook. There was no bridge and there seemed to be no way of getting to the other side. The straw had a good idea. He said, “I’ll lie down across the brook and you too can walk over me as if were a bridge.” So the straw lay down from bank to bank, and the coal, who was very excited and thoughtless, walked onto the newly built straw bridge.

6. But when he got to the middle and saw the water below, he got scared and he didn’t have the courage to go any farther. The straw caught fire, broke in the middle, and fell into the brook. The coal slipped in after him, hit the water, and was dead. The bean, who was careful, had stayed on the bank. He couldn’t help laughing when he saw what had happened. He laughed and laughed until finally he burst. He would have died as well, if a travelling tailor hadn’t stopped to rest by the brook. The tailor took pity on the bean, took out his needle and thread and stitched up the bean. The bean thanked him kindly, but as the tailor had used black thread, bean has had a black seam ever since.

On the basis of your reading of the passage, choose the correct option:

Q. Find words from the options given in brackets that mean the following?

Moved smoothly through (Para 3) 

1. There was once a poor old woman who lived in a village. She bought some beans and was getting ready to cook them. So she made a fire, and to make the fire burn better she put in a handful of straw. As she was putting the beans into the pot, one of them escaped unnoticed and fell to the floor, where it landed beside a piece of straw. A little while later, a burning piece of coal jumped from a fire and landed not too far from the other two.

2. The straw spoke up and said, “Dear friend where have you come from?” The coal replied, “Luckily for me I jumped out of the fire. It took a great deal of effort, but if I hadn’t done it, death  would have been certain; I’d have burnt to ashes.” The bean said, “I’ve come off with whole skin too, but if the old lady had got me into the pot, I’d have been cooked like my friends.”

3. “What do you think would have happened to me?” said the straw. “The old women had sent all my brothers up in fire and smoke; she took sixty at a time and did them to death. Luckily I slipped through her fingers.”

4. “But what are we to do now?” asked the coal. “Since we’ve been lucky enough to escape death”, said the bean, “I think we should get together like good friends and set out for foreign lands before anything dangerous happens again.”

5. The other liked the idea, and they stared out together. Soon they came to a brook. There was no bridge and there seemed to be no way of getting to the other side. The straw had a good idea. He said, “I’ll lie down across the brook and you too can walk over me as if were a bridge.” So the straw lay down from bank to bank, and the coal, who was very excited and thoughtless, walked onto the newly built straw bridge.

6. But when he got to the middle and saw the water below, he got scared and he didn’t have the courage to go any farther. The straw caught fire, broke in the middle, and fell into the brook. The coal slipped in after him, hit the water, and was dead. The bean, who was careful, had stayed on the bank. He couldn’t help laughing when he saw what had happened. He laughed and laughed until finally he burst. He would have died as well, if a travelling tailor hadn’t stopped to rest by the brook. The tailor took pity on the bean, took out his needle and thread and stitched up the bean. The bean thanked him kindly, but as the tailor had used black thread, bean has had a black seam ever since.

On the basis of your reading of the passage, choose the correct option:

Q. Find words from the options given in brackets that mean the following?

Going on a journey (Para 6)