You are here because you are looking for free printable reading comprehension worksheets pdf, reading comprehension exercises, English comprehension passages with questions and answers free download, or simply because you are asking these questions: Where can I get free reading comprehension worksheets? Where can I find reading passages? How do you find comprehension?
In general, reading comprehension is an exciting tool that teachers of English use to extend and reinforce their students’ reading skills. In fact, reading comprehension reinforces the critical reading comprehension strategies that help students to use their prior knowledge, careful thoughts, experiences, and evaluation as a whole.
This post compiles some English comprehension passages that help reinforce the following strategies:
- mental imaging
- self-questioning
- summarizing
- vocabulary knowledge
- activating prior knowledge
- semantic mapping
Free Printable Reading Comprehension Worksheets Pdf
Reading Comprehension Passages 1:
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before the New Year. While most people were warming up their cars, Charlie, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike to work, five kilometers away from home.
When he arrived, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a red Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Charlie used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries, saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his work. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect on our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity as a whole. And it has influenced us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares and the results can be everlasting.
Comprehension Questions:
1. Why was the bike so important to the couple?
- A. The man’s job was bike racing.
- B. It was their only possession.
- C. It was a nice Kona 18 speed.
- D. They used it for work and daily life.
2. We can infer from the text that ____________.
- A. The couple worked 60 hours a week.
- B. People were busy before the New Year
- C. The stranger brought over the bike
- D. Life was hard for the young family.
3. How did people get to know the couple’s problem?
- A. From radio broadcasts.
- B. From a newspaper.
- C. From TV news.
- D. From a stranger.
4. What do the couple learn from their experience?
- A. Strangers are usually of little help.
- B. One should take care of their bike.
- C. News reports make people famous.
- D. An act of kindness can mean a lot.
Reading Comprehension Worksheets Pdf
Reading Comprehension Passage 2:
A proverb is a short, well-known saying that expresses a common truth or belief. Proverbs are popular around the world. Many proverbs give advice on how to live. Some proverbs are hundreds of years old, but they are still used today. For example, my son is just like his father in many ways. We often say the two of them prove the proverb that the apple does not fall far from the tree.
My daughter is very short. She would like to be taller. But I tell her that good things come in small
packages. Some valuable things are very small, like diamonds and other jewels. But I also tell my children that all that glitters is not gold. Something may look valuable, but may not really be valuable.
Also, I advise them not to judge a book by its cover. This means that one should not judge something only by its appearance. Sometimes I tell my children to cooperate to solve a problem. After all, two heads are better than one. But another proverb says too many cooks spoil the broth. It means something may not be successful if too many people try to do it at the same time.
I also tell my children that two wrongs do not make a right. You should not do something bad just because someone did the same to you.
Some people are pessimists while other people are optimists. Pessimists always think about how bad things are or will be; optimists might say that every cloud has a silver lining and they always look on the bright side. Other people are both pessimists and optimists. They hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Some people often worry about what they will do in a situation that might happen in the future. We could tell them do not cross that bridge until you come to it.
It is usually much better to prevent a problem from happening than it is to find ways to solve it. So we say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Comprehension Questions:
1. The author often comforts her daughter with the proverb that ____.
- A. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree
- B. Good things come in small packages
- C. Too many cooks spoil the soup
- D. Two heads are better than one
2. “two heads are better than one”, means ____.
- A. Jobs will be done better if two work together
- B. A problem will be solved easily by many people
- C. Jobs won’t be done well if there are too many people
- D. You shouldn’t do something bad even if someone else does it
3. The word “pessimists” in bold refers to the people ____.
- A. Who always look on the bright side
- B. Who always expect bad things to happen
- C. Who are always full of hope for the future
- D. Who always make preparations for the worst
4. Which of the following are optimists likely to say?
- A. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
- B. We hope for the best and prepare for the worst
- C. Don’t cross the bridge until you come to it.
- D. Every cloud has a silver lining
Reading Comprehension Text With Questions
Reading Comprehension Passage 3:
Satellites are an important part of our ordinary lives. For example, the information for weather forecasts is sent by satellite. Some satellites have cameras that take photographs of the Earth to show how clouds are moving. Satellites are also used to connect our international phone calls.
Computer connections of the World Wide Web and Internet also use satellites. Many of our TV programs come to us through satellites. Airplane pilots also sometimes use a satellite to help them find their exact location．
We use satellites to send television pictures from one part of the world to another. They are usually 35,880 kilometers above the equator. Sometimes we can see a satellite in the sky and it seems to stay in the same place. This is because it is moving around the world at 11.000 kilometers an hour, exactly the same speed that the earth rotates. A satellite must orbit the earth with its antenna facing the earth. Sometimes, it moves away from its orbit, so there are little rockets on it which are used to put the satellite back in the right position. This usually happens about every five or six days．
Space is not empty. Every week, more and more satellites are sent into space to orbit the earth. A satellite usually works for about ten to twelve years. Satellites which are broken are sometimes repaired by astronauts or sometimes brought back to earth to be repaired. Often, very old or broken satellites are left in space to orbit the earth for a very long time. This is very serious because some satellites use nuclear power and they can crash into each other.
Comprehension Questions:
Answer these questions:
- How do satellites provide information about the weather?
- What happens when a satellite changes its orbit?
- Why are old and damaged satellites dangerous?
2. Which of the following is NOT done by satellites according to the passage?
- A．Sending information for the weather forecast．
- B．Taking photographs of the Earth．
- C．Sending TV pictures．
- D．Providing food for airplane pilots．
3. What’s the speed the earth rotates at?
- A．35,880 kilometers per hour．
- B．335,880 kilometers per hour．
- C．11,000 kilometers per hour．
- D．110,000 kilometers per hour
4. Why does the satellite move around the world at the same speed as the Earth rotates?
- A．In order to take photographs．
- B．In order to stay in a certain position in the orbit．
- C．In order to move away from its orbit．
- D．In order to send television pictures．
5. Which is true of satellites?
- A．A satellite usually works for about 10 to 12 years．
- B．Every time a satellite gets broken, it is brought back to the Earth to be repaired．
- C．A broken satellite is never left in space．
- D．They often crash into each other．
Free Printable Reading Comprehension Worksheets Pdf
Reading Comprehension Passage 4:
Complete the following text with correct words given below as in the example:
Nowadays (1) _most_ children go to school (2) ______ few of them have ever asked themselves (3) ______ they go there. Some children think that they go to school just to learn their mother tongue, English and other foreign languages,history, science, (4) ______ and a few other (5) ______ . But why do they learn these things? Are these the only things they should learn at school?
Actually, children go to school to (6) ______ themselves for the time when they will be grown up and will have to (7) ______ themselves. They learn their own language (8) ______ they will be able to (9) ______ with people in foreign countries, make friends with them and learn (10) ______ about their culture and history. They learn mathematics in order to be able to measure the things around them and calculate sums. (11) ______ helps them understand something about the world around them and history teaches them about the past and people. Nearly everything they study at school has some use (12) ______ in their (13) ______ , but there is one more (14) ______ reason why children go to school.
It is more important to receive education that just learning(15) ______ . We go to school(16) ______ to learn how to learn. Learning is not just for school but for life. So even after we have left school, we have to continue to learn. A man who (17) ______ knows how to learn will always be (18) ______ because whenever he is faced with a completely new task or problem, he will teach himself how to deal with it in the best way. ( 19) ______ , children do not go to school just to learn languages, mathematics, geography, etc. They go to school to (20) ______ how to learn.
- A. some B. most C. few D. all
- A. but B. so C. and D. because
- A. how B. when C. why D. that
- A. cooking B. sowing C. playing D. geography
- A. subjects B. skills C. languages D. games
- A. make B. prepare C. teach D. study
- A. teach B. support C. live D. work
- A. and B. in order to C. so as to D. so that
- A. communicate B. work C. talk D. study
- A. everything B. anything C. something D. nothing
- A. Foreign languages B. Mathematics C. History D. Geography
- A. practical B. special C. different D. importance
- A. work B. lives C. study D. communication
- A. difficult B. unusual C. important D. kind
- A. foreign languages B. science C. mathematics D. facts
- A. above all B. at all C. in all D. for all
- A. doesn’t B. never C. really D. may
- A. unsuccessful B. calm C. successful D. useful
- A. Although B. But C. However D. Therefore
- A. begin B. work C. live D. learn
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