Comprehension | English Olympiad for Class 2 PDF Download

What is Comprehension?

Understanding what you read and then answering questions about it is called comprehension.
 

• It's about getting the meaning from what you read. 
• Comprehension is a key part of reading, and passages on different topics can help improve it. 
• It's like figuring out the meaning of words and understanding the text. 
• Comprehension can be tested with passages or poems, where you need to understand them well enough to answer questions. 
• Sometimes, you have to guess what the writer thinks or believes. 
• And when we read, we often make guesses based on the information in the text, which is called inferring.

Steps

• First, read the passage carefully. Look at each word and try to understand what it means.
• Try to understand what the passage is talking about. Think about the main idea or topic.
• Read each question carefully. Make sure you know exactly what you need to do before you start answering.
• When you answer the questions, go back to the passage to find the information you need. Look for words or sentences that tell you the answer.
• Think about what the writer is trying to say. Try to imagine what they are thinking or feeling.
• Use the information in the passage to help you answer the questions. If you're not sure, you can guess based on what you read.
• Take your time and do your best. If you get stuck, don't worry. Just try your best and use what you know to answer the questions.

Foundations

• Children should understand different ideas clearly. 
• They should know the language well so they can understand all the words. 
• They should also understand how titles and pictures are connected to the text.

Understanding what you read can be hard if you don't know many words, and spending a lot of time trying to say them correctly can make it even harder. Being able to recognize words quickly, without having to sound them out, makes understanding easier.

Strategies 

• Understand what you read.
• Figure out the main idea and why it's important. There might be many ideas, but there's one that connects them all - that's the main idea.
• After reading, ask yourself, "What is this mostly about?"
• The title can give a big hint about the main idea because it often tells you what the text is about.
• The answers might not be directly in the text, but there are clues to help you think about them.

Sample for Comprehension 

One summer afternoon, a grasshopper was hopping about in a field. He was enjoying the day. On his way, he met an ant who was struggling to take a grain of corn to her anthill.

The grasshopper was a lazy fellow. So, when he saw the ant, he said, “Why don՚t you come and chat with me instead of working so hard? We will have a great time.”

“I am trying to collect and store food for the winter. I can՚t waste time being lazy. I think you should also start saving food for winter,” said the ant.

The grasshopper yawned and said, “Winter is too far away. There is plenty of time. Why worry about it today?” But the ant went on her way and continued to work hard. Days passed, then months. The grasshopper enjoyed himself and the ant collected enough food for the winter.

When the winter came, the leaves had fallen and the grass was dry. The grasshopper had nothing to eat. It started to snow. He thought he would die of hunger and cold. On the other hand, the ant was enjoying the fruits of her hard work. She had a nice and cozy home, and plenty to eat. The grasshopper was very sad for not working hard and being lazy.

Q1: Why was the ant collecting grains?
(a)  She was competing with the grasshopper.
(b) To feed the grasshopper.
(c) She was storing food for winter.
(d) Question does not provide sufficient data or is vague
Ans: (c)
Sol: The ant was collecting grains to store them for the winter. She knew that during the winter, it would be hard to find food, so she worked hard to collect enough to eat during that time.

Q2: Choose the opposite of the word “lazy”.
(a) Enjoy
(b) Sleepy
(c) Active
(d) Question does not provide sufficient data or is vague
Ans: (c)
Sol: The opposite of lazy, which means not wanting to work or make an effort, is active, which means energetic and willing to work.

Q3: Who worked hard in the given passage?
(a) Ant and grasshopper
(b) Ant
(c) Grasshopper
(d) None of the above
Ans: (b)
Sol: In the passage, the ant is the one who worked hard by collecting and storing food for the winter. The grasshopper, on the other hand, was lazy and did not work hard.

Q4: The grasshopper thought he would ________ in the winter.
(a) Work hard
(b) Eat ant՚s food
(c) Die of hunger and cold
(d) None of the above
Ans: (c)
Sol: The grasshopper thought he would die of hunger and cold in the winter because he did not collect enough food to eat during that time. He was not prepared for the cold weather and did not have any food stored.