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Class 6 · English Language · Reading Comprehension

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Class 6 · English Language · Cameroon

Reading Comprehension: 12 practice questions

Free practice on Reading Comprehension for Class 6, 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

Literal vs inferential questions

Literal: the answer is directly in the text. Inferential: you must think and connect ideas. 'What did Ngu do?' — literal. 'Why do you think he did it?' — inferential.

Question	Type
What did Manka bring?	Literal
Why did Manka bring it?	Inferential
What does 'bustling' mean here?	Vocabulary
What is the theme?	Interpretive

Skimming and scanning

Skimming: quick read to get the general idea. Scanning: fast look for a specific fact (like a date or a name). Both save time in exams.

Skim: read titles and first sentences
Get the main idea quickly
Scan: look for the key word or number
Do not read everything for a specific fact
Return for detailed reading when needed

Summarising

A summary captures the main points in your own words. Cut examples and details. Keep who, what and outcome. A good summary is short but complete.

Read the whole text
Underline main ideas
Write in your own words
Keep who / what / outcome
Check it is shorter but complete

How did the people of Njinikom cross the river before the bridge?
1. By canoe
2. On a log
3. On a rope
4. They did not cross it
Show the answer

Answer: B. On a log

A literal question — the answer sits in the first sentence: they crossed on a log.
What happened in August?
1. The council came to visit
2. The water rose over the log and children missed school
3. The log was replaced
4. The mason arrived from Bamenda
Show the answer

Answer: B. The water rose over the log and children missed school

Paragraph 1 again: in August the water rose over the log and children stayed at home, sometimes for a week.
'The council promised a bridge in 2019, and again in 2021. Nothing came.' What does the writer want you to think about the council?
1. That it worked hard for the village
2. That it did not keep its promises
3. That it paid for the bridge
4. That it chose the mason
Show the answer

Answer: B. That it did not keep its promises

The writer never says 'the council failed'. Two short sentences and the words 'Nothing came' do the work. Judging a writer's attitude like this is an inferential question.
'It has no name and no plaque.' Why does the writer end with this detail?
1. To show the bridge was never finished
2. To show the villagers built it to use, not to be praised for
3. To show that nobody knows who built it
4. To show the council was angry about it
Show the answer

Answer: B. To show the villagers built it to use, not to be praised for

A plaque is where people put their names to be remembered. Saying there is none — right after the children stop missing school — points at what mattered to them. Inferring again.
Which sentence best summarises the whole passage?
1. A retired mason drew a plan on the back of a cement bag.
2. After years of waiting for the council, a village built its own bridge.
3. The children of Njinikom enjoy going to school.
4. The river at Njinikom rises every August.
Show the answer

Answer: B. After years of waiting for the council, a village built its own bridge.

A summary keeps who, what and the outcome, and cuts the details. The other three are all true, but each is only one detail from the story.
How many weeks did the bridge take to build?

Write your answer, then check below.

Show the answer

Answer: seven / 7 / seven weeks / 7 weeks

Scanning for a number in the last paragraph: seven weeks.
How much of the rubbish counted was plastic?
1. About a quarter
2. Nearly two thirds
3. All of it
4. About one tenth
Show the answer

Answer: B. Nearly two thirds

Paragraph 1 gives the figure: nearly two thirds.
Why does the writer mention a banana leaf?
1. Banana leaves are also thrown in the river
2. To compare plastic with something the reader knows rots quickly
3. Because leaves block the gutters
4. To say leaves are worse than plastic
Show the answer

Answer: B. To compare plastic with something the reader knows rots quickly

A writer explains a new idea by holding it against a familiar one. You already know how fast a banana leaf rots, so 'plastic does not rot that way' lands immediately.
What is the MAIN idea of this passage?
1. Fishing at Youpwe has become difficult
2. Plastic reaches the sea through gutters, so it must be stopped at the gutter
3. The Wouri is a long and important river
4. Sachets are cheap to buy
Show the answer

Answer: B. Plastic reaches the sea through gutters, so it must be stopped at the gutter

The title, the journey from gutter to sea, and the last two sentences all point the same way. The main idea is the one thing everything else in the passage supports.
In this passage, what does 'troubles to' mean in 'nobody troubles to pick them up'?
1. is worried about
2. makes the effort to
3. is allowed to
4. keeps forgetting to
Show the answer

Answer: B. makes the effort to

Use the words around it. Sachets are everywhere and nobody picks them up, so 'troubles to' must mean 'makes the effort to'. Working a word out from its neighbours is using context clues.
'The sachets are light and cost almost nothing, which is why they are everywhere.' What does this suggest about very cheap things?
1. They are usually better made
2. People value them less, so they throw them away
3. They last much longer
4. They are hard to find
Show the answer

Answer: B. People value them less, so they throw them away

The passage states the cause and leaves you to draw the lesson. Cheapness and carelessness are being linked — that is an inference, not a stated fact.
In which year was the rubbish counted?

Write your answer, then check below.

Show the answer

Answer: 2022 / in 2022

Scanning for a date in paragraph 1: 2022.

Answer key — Reading Comprehension

B. On a logA literal question — the answer sits in the first sentence: they crossed on a log.
B. The water rose over the log and children missed schoolParagraph 1 again: in August the water rose over the log and children stayed at home, sometimes for a week.
B. That it did not keep its promisesThe writer never says 'the council failed'. Two short sentences and the words 'Nothing came' do the work. Judging a writer's attitude like this is an inferential question.
B. To show the villagers built it to use, not to be praised forA plaque is where people put their names to be remembered. Saying there is none — right after the children stop missing school — points at what mattered to them. Inferring again.
B. After years of waiting for the council, a village built its own bridge.A summary keeps who, what and the outcome, and cuts the details. The other three are all true, but each is only one detail from the story.
seven / 7 / seven weeks / 7 weeksScanning for a number in the last paragraph: seven weeks.
B. Nearly two thirdsParagraph 1 gives the figure: nearly two thirds.
B. To compare plastic with something the reader knows rots quicklyA writer explains a new idea by holding it against a familiar one. You already know how fast a banana leaf rots, so 'plastic does not rot that way' lands immediately.
B. Plastic reaches the sea through gutters, so it must be stopped at the gutterThe title, the journey from gutter to sea, and the last two sentences all point the same way. The main idea is the one thing everything else in the passage supports.
B. makes the effort toUse the words around it. Sachets are everywhere and nobody picks them up, so 'troubles to' must mean 'makes the effort to'. Working a word out from its neighbours is using context clues.
B. People value them less, so they throw them awayThe passage states the cause and leaves you to draw the lesson. Cheapness and carelessness are being linked — that is an inference, not a stated fact.
2022 / in 2022Scanning for a date in paragraph 1: 2022.

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