Edutest Year 4 Reading Comprehension Practice

Try each question first, then open the worked solution to check your answer and see how to reach it.

1. 1.Read the text: "The little red boat bobbed on the waves. The wind filled its sails and it sped across the bay." What made the boat move fast?

   • AThe waves
   • BThe wind
   • CAn engine
   • DA fish
   Show answer and working

   Answer: B (The wind)

   The second sentence explains the movement: 'The wind filled its sails and it sped across the bay.' Wind filling the sails is what pushes a sailing boat, and 'sped' means moved fast. The waves only made the boat 'bob' up and down. An engine and a fish are not mentioned, so they cannot be the answer.

2. 2.Read the text: "Sally planted a seed in the garden. She watered it every day. Soon, a tiny green shoot appeared." What appeared after watering?

   • AA flower
   • BA tree
   • CA green shoot
   • DA worm
   Show answer and working

   Answer: C (A green shoot)

   The text gives the order of events: Sally planted a seed, watered it every day, and 'Soon, a tiny green shoot appeared.' The word 'soon' shows this happened after the watering. A flower or tree might grow later, but the text only tells us about the shoot, so choose the answer the text actually states.

3. 3.Read the text: "The beautiful lifecycle of a butterfly is amazing to watch. They all start their life as very tiny, round eggs laid on the back of a green leaf. When the egg finally hatches, a hungry, crawling caterpillar comes out. This caterpillar spends its days eating lots of leaves and growing big and strong before eventually turning into a hard chrysalis." What comes out of the egg?

   • AA butterfly
   • BA chrysalis
   • CA caterpillar
   • DA spider
   Show answer and working

   Answer: C (A caterpillar)

   The text describes the stages in order: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis. It says that 'When the egg finally hatches, a hungry, crawling caterpillar comes out.' The butterfly and the chrysalis come later in the life cycle, so they are tempting but wrong for a question about what hatches from the egg.

4. 4.Read the text: "Even though penguins are officially classified as birds and have feathers, they actually cannot fly in the air. Instead of flying, they cleverly use their short, strong wings as flippers to smoothly swim and glide underwater while hunting for fish. They are perfectly adapted to live in very cold, icy places like the frozen continent of Antarctica." How do penguins use their wings?

   • ATo fly high
   • BTo dig holes
   • CTo swim underwater
   • DTo hold things
   Show answer and working

   Answer: C (To swim underwater)

   The text explains that instead of flying, penguins 'use their short, strong wings as flippers to smoothly swim and glide underwater'. The word 'Instead' shows that flying is ruled out, so option A is wrong. Digging and holding things are not mentioned anywhere in the passage.

5. 5.Read the text: "Because the summer sun was shining so brightly in the clear blue sky, Dad knew he had to be careful before going outside. First, he put on his wide-brimmed hat and his dark sunglasses to protect his eyes. Then, he rubbed a thick layer of sunscreen all over his arms and face to stop his skin from getting burnt by the harsh rays." Why did Dad put on sunscreen?

   • ATo look cool
   • BTo stop getting burnt
   • CBecause it was raining
   • DTo stay warm
   Show answer and working

   Answer: B (To stop getting burnt)

   The reason is given at the end of the sentence: he rubbed sunscreen on his arms and face 'to stop his skin from getting burnt by the harsh rays'. The phrase 'to stop' tells us the purpose. The day was sunny and bright, which rules out rain, and staying warm or looking cool are not mentioned.

6. 6.Read the text: "Unlike most birds that sing in the morning sun, the mysterious owl is nocturnal, meaning it actually sleeps tucked away in the trees during the day and only wakes up at night. It is perfectly designed for the dark, with very big, round eyes that help it see clearly. Once the moon is high, it silently hunts through the forest for small mice to eat." When does the owl sleep?

   • AAt night
   • BIn the morning
   • CDuring the day
   • DIn the evening
   Show answer and working

   Answer: C (During the day)

   The text explains a new word: the owl is 'nocturnal, meaning it actually sleeps tucked away in the trees during the day and only wakes up at night.' The word 'meaning' gives the definition. So the owl sleeps during the day. 'At night' is when the owl is awake and hunting, which is the trap answer.

7. 7.Read the text: "Long before the sun even started to rise over the sleepy town, the hardworking baker woke up early to head to his warm kitchen. He spent hours mixing flour and yeast to make hundreds of loaves of fresh, crusty bread. By the time the townspeople woke up, the wonderful, comforting smell of the baking bread had completely filled the entire street." What does the baker make?

   • ACake
   • BBread
   • CPie
   • DPizza
   Show answer and working

   Answer: B (Bread)

   The text says the baker spent hours 'mixing flour and yeast to make hundreds of loaves of fresh, crusty bread', and later the street smelled of 'baking bread'. Loaves and yeast are clues that point to bread. Cakes, pies and pizza are also baked, but none of them is mentioned.

8. 8.Read the text: "After eating leaves for nearly two straight weeks, the plump green caterpillar finally found a safe, quiet branch and slowly spun a protective silken cocoon entirely around itself. It hung perfectly still in the garden for many weeks. Finally, the casing split open, and a beautiful, colourful butterfly emerged, stretching its delicate wings in the morning sun." What did the caterpillar become?

   • AA moth
   • BA worm
   • CA butterfly
   • DA beetle
   Show answer and working

   Answer: C (A butterfly)

   The final sentence tells us what happened: 'the casing split open, and a beautiful, colourful butterfly emerged'. 'Emerged' means came out. A moth also comes from a cocoon, so it is a tempting answer, but the text clearly says butterfly, and worms and beetles are not mentioned.

9. 9.Read the text: "As the long, hot days of August faded away, the green leaves on the maple and oak trees slowly turned brilliant shades of deep red and glowing gold before they finally fell to the ground in piles. The evening air quickly became noticeably crisp, breezy, and cool, signaling to everyone that a brand new season had officially arrived." What season is described?

   • ASummer
   • BSpring
   • CAutumn
   • DWinter
   Show answer and working

   Answer: C (Autumn)

   The season is not named, so use the clues. Leaves turning 'deep red and glowing gold' and falling to the ground, plus the air becoming 'crisp, breezy, and cool' after the 'hot days of August', all describe autumn. Summer is the season that is ending, which makes it the trap answer.

10. 10.Read the text: "The tiny, bright orange fish happily swam back and forth through the warm, crystal-clear blue water of the tropical coral reef. Suddenly, a large shadow passed overhead. Feeling terrified, the little fish quickly darted to the bottom and hid silently behind a large, jagged rock when a big, hungry shark slowly swam by looking for a meal." Why did the fish hide?

    • ATo sleep
    • BTo eat
    • CScared of the shark
    • DTo play
    Show answer and working

    Answer: C (Scared of the shark)

    The text says the fish was 'Feeling terrified' and hid 'when a big, hungry shark slowly swam by looking for a meal'. Terrified means very scared, and the hungry shark is the reason. Hiding behind a rock to stay safe is not sleeping, eating or playing, so the other options do not fit.