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Class 3 · English Language · Reading Comprehension
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Class 3 · English Language · Cameroon

Reading Comprehension: 10 practice questions

Free practice on Reading Comprehension for Class 3, following the Cameroon primary school curriculum (English subsystem). Every answer is explained, so a parent who is not sure of the answer can still help.

How to do this — Reading Comprehension

What is reading comprehension?

Reading comprehension means understanding what you read. It is not just saying the words — it is knowing what they mean! After reading, you should be able to answer questions about the text.

  1. Read the text slowly and carefully
  2. Think about what is happening
  3. Look for key words
  4. Read the questions
  5. Find the answers in the text

Tips for understanding

If you do not understand a word, look at the words around it for clues. Read the passage again if needed. Ask yourself: Who is in the story? What happened? Where did it happen?

Key question words: Who? · What? · Where? · When? · Why? · How?

  1. How far did Ngu walk to school?

    1. One kilometre
    2. Two kilometres
    3. Five kilometres
    4. The story does not say
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. Two kilometres

    This one is written in the story — go back and find it. Paragraph 1 says 'two kilometres'.

  2. What was wrong with Ngu's old shoes?

    1. They were too big
    2. The left one had a hole
    3. They were the wrong colour
    4. He had lost one of them
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. The left one had a hole

    Read paragraph 1 again slowly: 'the left one had a hole'.

  3. What colour were the new shoes?

    1. White
    2. Black
    3. Brown
    4. Red
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. Black

    Hunt through paragraph 2 for just the colour word: black.

  4. Why did Ngu keep the new shoes under his bed?

    1. He did not like them
    2. He wanted them to stay new for the new term
    3. They were too small for him
    4. His mother told him to
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. He wanted them to stay new for the new term

    The story never says this in one sentence — you work it out from the last line. Thinking it out like this is called inferring.

  5. In which town did Ngu's mother sell plantains?

    Write your answer, then check below.

    Show the answer

    Answer: Bamenda / the market in Bamenda / at the market in Bamenda / in Bamenda

    Run your eye down the story looking only for the name of a place. That is called scanning. Here it is Bamenda.

  6. What did Manka and her father do before the rain came?

    1. They closed all the windows
    2. They carried the maize inside
    3. They walked to the market
    4. They mended the roof
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. They carried the maize inside

    Paragraph 1 tells you: they carried the maize in and put it in sacks near the door.

  7. Why could nobody hear anybody speak?

    1. Everyone was asleep
    2. The rain was loud on the zinc roof
    3. They were standing far apart
    4. The radio was playing
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. The rain was loud on the zinc roof

    Paragraph 2 tells you outright: the rain 'fell hard on the zinc roof'.

  8. Why did Manka's father smile at the end?

    1. Because the rain had stopped
    2. Because his maize stayed dry — they moved it in time
    3. Because he likes red mud
    4. Because he was going to the market
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. Because his maize stayed dry — they moved it in time

    Nobody in the story says 'he was glad'. You put the dry sacks and the smile together yourself. That is inferring.

  9. What happened to the road when the rain fell?

    1. It was washed away
    2. It turned to red mud
    3. It became cool and clean
    4. Nothing happened to it
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. It turned to red mud

    The last sentence of paragraph 2 tells you: the road turned to red mud.

  10. What time did the rain come?

    1. In the morning
    2. At two o'clock
    3. At night
    4. The story does not say
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. At two o'clock

    When you want one small fact — a time, a name, a number — hunt for just that. Here it is two o'clock.

Answer key — Reading Comprehension

  1. B. Two kilometresThis one is written in the story — go back and find it. Paragraph 1 says 'two kilometres'.
  2. B. The left one had a holeRead paragraph 1 again slowly: 'the left one had a hole'.
  3. B. BlackHunt through paragraph 2 for just the colour word: black.
  4. B. He wanted them to stay new for the new termThe story never says this in one sentence — you work it out from the last line. Thinking it out like this is called inferring.
  5. Bamenda / the market in Bamenda / at the market in Bamenda / in BamendaRun your eye down the story looking only for the name of a place. That is called scanning. Here it is Bamenda.
  6. B. They carried the maize insideParagraph 1 tells you: they carried the maize in and put it in sacks near the door.
  7. B. The rain was loud on the zinc roofParagraph 2 tells you outright: the rain 'fell hard on the zinc roof'.
  8. B. Because his maize stayed dry — they moved it in timeNobody in the story says 'he was glad'. You put the dry sacks and the smile together yourself. That is inferring.
  9. B. It turned to red mudThe last sentence of paragraph 2 tells you: the road turned to red mud.
  10. B. At two o'clockWhen you want one small fact — a time, a name, a number — hunt for just that. Here it is two o'clock.

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