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Primary 3 · English · Comprehension: Literal

Comprehension: Literal questions for Primary 3 English

8 questions to work through online. Answer and you get the working straight away, then a score at the end. No sign-up, and you can retake it as often as you like.

  • Finding a detail
  • Finding a reason
  • Picking the sentence that says it
0 of 8 answered
Question 1 of 8Finding a detail
1 The lift in Block 24 had been out of order for three days. Every morning Mei Ling walked her grandmother up the five floors to their flat, stopping at each landing so that Grandma could catch her breath. 2 On Thursday afternoon Mei Ling came home from school and found their neighbour, Mr Segar, at the foot of the stairs with a folding chair. He had carried it down from his own flat so that anyone who needed a rest on the way up could sit for a while. 3 By Friday, six families had signed a letter to the town council. Mei Ling was allowed to write the last line herself: "Please hurry — our grandparents are climbing a mountain every day." The repairman arrived on Saturday morning, before the letter had even been posted.
In paragraph 1, how long had the lift in Block 24 been out of order?
Question 2 of 8Finding a reason

Same text as the question above.

Why did Mei Ling and her grandmother stop at each landing?
Question 3 of 8Finding a detail

Same text as the question above.

What did Mr Segar leave at the foot of the stairs?
Question 4 of 8Picking the sentence that says it

Same text as the question above.

Which sentence tells you that the neighbours acted together?
Question 5 of 8Finding a detail
1 The smooth-coated otters that live along our canals are powerful swimmers. A family may travel more than ten kilometres in a single day, slipping from one waterway into the next in search of fish. 2 Otters cannot stay in the water all day, however. Their thick fur has to be dried and combed with their claws, so after every hunt the family finds a patch of grass near the bank and rolls about on it. 3 When the pups are small, the adults nudge them into the shallows and swim close beside them. A pup can dive on its own within a month, but it stays with its family for almost a year before setting off alone.
In paragraph 1, how far can an otter family travel in one day?
Question 6 of 8Finding a reason

Same text as the question above.

Why do the otters roll about on a patch of grass?
Question 7 of 8Finding a detail

Same text as the question above.

According to paragraph 3, what do the adult otters do when the pups are small?
Question 8 of 8Finding a detail

Same text as the question above.

How long does a pup stay with its family?
Answers and explanations for all 8 questions

Every answer with the reasoning behind it. Worth reading after you have tried the set — or on its own, if you are a parent marking it.

  1. In paragraph 1, how long had the lift in Block 24 been out of order?

    Answer: three days

    Paragraph 1 says the lift "had been out of order for three days".

  2. Why did Mei Ling and her grandmother stop at each landing?

    Answer: So that Grandma could rest and get her breath back.

    Paragraph 1 gives the reason directly: they stopped "so that Grandma could catch her breath".

  3. What did Mr Segar leave at the foot of the stairs?

    Answer: a folding chair

    Paragraph 2 says Mr Segar was at the foot of the stairs with a folding chair he had carried down from his own flat.

  4. Which sentence tells you that the neighbours acted together?

    Answer: By Friday, six families had signed a letter to the town council.

    Six families signing one letter is the neighbours acting as a group.

  5. In paragraph 1, how far can an otter family travel in one day?

    Answer: more than ten kilometres

    Paragraph 1 says a family may travel more than ten kilometres in a single day.

  6. Why do the otters roll about on a patch of grass?

    Answer: To dry their fur and comb it with their claws.

    Paragraph 2 says their fur has to be dried and combed with their claws, so they roll on the grass after a hunt.

  7. According to paragraph 3, what do the adult otters do when the pups are small?

    Answer: They nudge the pups into the shallows and swim beside them.

    Paragraph 3 says the adults nudge the pups into the shallows and swim close beside them.

  8. How long does a pup stay with its family?

    Answer: almost a year

    Paragraph 3 says a pup stays with its family for almost a year before setting off alone.