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3rd grade reading comprehension
3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 16 questions · Common Core: RI.3.1, RL.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.4.2 · England: Y3/4 Reading (retrieval), KS2 SATs Reading, Y3/4 Reading (main ideas)
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The Vault at the Top of the World
On a frozen island in the Arctic Ocean, between Norway and the North Pole, a narrow concrete doorway sticks out of the side of a mountain. Behind it, a tunnel leads deep into the rock. This is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, and it holds more than a million packets of seeds from almost every country on Earth.
Why keep seeds in a mountain? Farmers all over the world depend on many different varieties of crops, such as types of rice that survive floods or kinds of wheat that resist disease. If a variety disappears because of war, natural disaster or simple accident, it may be lost for ever. The vault is a back-up copy, like saving a precious file in two places.
The location was chosen with care. The vault is high enough above sea level to stay dry even if ice caps melt. Inside, the seeds are kept at about minus 18 degrees Celsius, cold enough to keep many of them alive for decades or even centuries. The surrounding rock is permanently frozen, so even if the power failed, the seeds would stay cold.
The vault opened in 2008. In 2015, it was used for the first time: scientists who had lost access to their own seed bank during a war in Syria withdrew samples, grew new plants and later sent fresh seeds back to the vault. The back-up had worked.
No one hopes the vault will be needed often. But like a fire extinguisher in a school corridor, it is reassuring to know it is there.
Question 1
Read "The Vault at the Top of the World". What is the main idea of the text?
- A. Wheat is better than rice.
- B. Norway is a cold country.
- C. The seed vault protects copies of crop seeds in case they are lost elsewhere.
- D. The vault has a concrete door.
The Camera in the Hedge
For my birthday, Aunt Jo gave me a wildlife camera. It is small and green, and it takes a photo whenever something moves in front of it. I strapped it to the fence post at the bottom of our garden, pointing at a gap in the hedge.
The first morning, I ran outside in my pyjamas to check it. There were forty-two photos! Most of them were of leaves blowing in the wind. One was of our cat, Biscuit, looking very surprised.
But on the second night, something different appeared. At 11:14 p.m., a hedgehog shuffled out of the hedge. At 11:16 p.m., it was sniffing at the flower bed. At 11:20 p.m., it was gone.
I wanted to know where it went, so I read about hedgehogs in a library book. I learned that a hedgehog can walk more than a kilometre in one night, looking for beetles and worms. Walls and fences with no gaps can stop it from finding enough food.
Dad and I cut a small hole, about the size of a CD case, at the bottom of our fence. Our neighbour, Mr Okafor, made one in his fence too. Now the hedgehog can travel from garden to garden.
Last night, the camera caught the hedgehog again. This time, it was squeezing through our new hole, heading for Mr Okafor's garden. I think it was saying thank you.
Question 2
Read "The Camera in the Hedge". The hedgehog "shuffled" out of the hedge. What does shuffled mean?
- A. jumped high
- B. flew quickly
- C. walked slowly, dragging its feet a little
- D. swam
Why Do Leaves Change in Autumn?
In many parts of the world, autumn turns forests into blazes of yellow, orange and red. But where do these bright shades come from? The answer is hidden inside every leaf.
During spring and summer, leaves are busy making food for the tree. To do this, they use sunlight, water and air. A green substance called chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight. There is so much chlorophyll in a leaf that it hides all the other shades.
As autumn arrives, the days grow shorter and there is less sunlight. Trees such as maples and oaks begin to get ready for winter. They stop making chlorophyll. As the green fades away, the yellows and oranges that were in the leaf all along begin to show.
Some trees, such as certain maples, also make a brand-new red substance in autumn. This is why some leaves turn bright red or purple.
Finally, the tree seals off each leaf where it joins the branch. The leaf dries out and falls. Without leaves, the tree uses less water during the cold winter months. In spring, new green leaves will grow, and the cycle will begin again.
Question 3
Read "Why Do Leaves Change in Autumn?". Why can't we see yellow and orange in leaves during summer?
- A. Rain washes them away.
- B. The green chlorophyll hides them.
- C. The sun bleaches them.
- D. They are not made until autumn.
The Clever Octopus
If you wanted to design an intelligent animal from scratch, you probably would not start with a creature that has no bones, three hearts and blue blood. Yet the octopus is one of the most remarkable problem-solvers in the animal kingdom.
In laboratories, octopuses have learned to unscrew jar lids to reach crabs inside. Some have escaped from their tanks at night, crept across the floor to a neighbouring tank to eat the fish, and then returned home before morning. In the wild, veined octopuses have been filmed collecting coconut shells, carrying them across the seabed and assembling them into a portable shelter – one of the few known examples of tool use by an invertebrate.
What makes this intelligence so surprising is how different the octopus brain is from ours. About two-thirds of its roughly 500 million nerve cells are not in its head at all but in its eight arms. Each arm can taste, touch and even make simple decisions on its own. Scientists are still debating what it might feel like to be an animal whose thinking is spread throughout its body.
The octopus's cleverness may be linked to its lifestyle. Without a shell for protection, it must outwit predators by hiding, changing colour in a fraction of a second, or squeezing through gaps no bigger than its beak. Survival depends on flexible thinking.
Strangely, most octopuses live only one or two years. They have no parents to teach them and usually die soon after laying eggs. Every skill they show, they must largely work out for themselves.
Question 4
Read "The Clever Octopus". Where are most of an octopus's nerve cells?
- A. in its three hearts
- B. in its head
- C. in its arms
- D. in its beak
Question 5
Mae Jemison was born in 1956 in Alabama, in the United States. She trained as a doctor and an engineer, and in 1992 she became the first African American woman to travel into space. What kind of text is this?
- A. biography
- B. myth
- C. fantasy
- D. autobiography
The Camera in the Hedge
For my birthday, Aunt Jo gave me a wildlife camera. It is small and green, and it takes a photo whenever something moves in front of it. I strapped it to the fence post at the bottom of our garden, pointing at a gap in the hedge.
The first morning, I ran outside in my pyjamas to check it. There were forty-two photos! Most of them were of leaves blowing in the wind. One was of our cat, Biscuit, looking very surprised.
But on the second night, something different appeared. At 11:14 p.m., a hedgehog shuffled out of the hedge. At 11:16 p.m., it was sniffing at the flower bed. At 11:20 p.m., it was gone.
I wanted to know where it went, so I read about hedgehogs in a library book. I learned that a hedgehog can walk more than a kilometre in one night, looking for beetles and worms. Walls and fences with no gaps can stop it from finding enough food.
Dad and I cut a small hole, about the size of a CD case, at the bottom of our fence. Our neighbour, Mr Okafor, made one in his fence too. Now the hedgehog can travel from garden to garden.
Last night, the camera caught the hedgehog again. This time, it was squeezing through our new hole, heading for Mr Okafor's garden. I think it was saying thank you.
Question 6
Read "The Camera in the Hedge". Who is telling this story?
- A. the hedgehog
- B. Aunt Jo
- C. a narrator outside the story (third person)
- D. a child in the story, using 'I' (first person)
The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment
For one month, students at Brookfield School tried something unusual: no phones at lunch. Phones stayed in lockers from twelve until one, and the dining hall filled with board games, sketchbooks and a lot more noise.
The idea came from the student council. In a survey, 61 per cent of students said they spent most of lunch looking at a screen, and many said they wanted a break but found it hard to stop on their own.
At first, not everyone was happy. "I thought it was a punishment," admitted Jaden, 12. "But after a week I'd learned to play chess, and now I actually look forward to lunch."
Teachers noticed changes too. Ms Ortega, who supervises the hall, said there were fewer arguments and more students sitting in mixed groups. However, some students said they missed messaging family members during the day.
The council will now vote on whether to keep the rule. One suggestion is a compromise: phone-free Mondays to Thursdays, with Fridays left free.
Question 7
Read "The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment". According to the survey, what did many students want?
- A. a longer lunch break
- B. new phones
- C. a break from screens, though they found it hard to stop on their own
- D. more homework
Question 8
The baby rabbit was so timid that it hid whenever anyone came near. What does "timid" mean?
- A. brave
- B. hungry
- C. shy and easily frightened
- D. fast
The Kite Festival
Amara had spent three weeks building her kite. She had bent the bamboo sticks, stretched the paper tight and painted a fierce golden dragon across the front. It was going to win the prize for best design at the town's kite festival. She was sure of it.
On the morning of the festival, the field was crowded with families. Kites shaped like fish, birds and boats bobbed in the breeze. Amara's little brother, Kofi, trailed behind her, clutching a small diamond kite he had made from a plastic bag and two straws.
"Mine's not very good," Kofi mumbled.
Amara ran, and her dragon rose beautifully – until a sudden gust snapped one of the bamboo sticks. The kite twisted, spun and crashed into the grass. The paper ripped right through the dragon's face.
Amara's eyes stung. Three weeks of work, ruined in three seconds.
Kofi tugged her sleeve. "You can fly mine with me," he offered.
At first Amara shook her head. Then she looked at Kofi's hopeful face and took the string. Together they ran, and the little plastic kite shot up higher than any other kite in the sky. People pointed and cheered.
That afternoon, the judges gave Kofi a ribbon for "Highest Flyer". Amara clapped louder than anyone. She realised she was smiling more than she would have if she had won the prize herself.
Question 9
Read "The Kite Festival". What made Amara's kite crash?
- A. Kofi pulled the string.
- B. The paint was too heavy.
- C. A gust of wind snapped a stick.
- D. It got caught in a tree.
The Lemonade Stand
Marcus wanted a new bike helmet, but it cost twenty dollars. He had only five.
"Why not set up a lemonade stand?" suggested his grandmother. She helped him squeeze a big bowl of lemons and stir in sugar and cold water. Marcus painted a sign that said LEMONADE – 50 CENTS.
On Saturday morning, Marcus put his table at the end of the driveway. For the first hour, nobody came. Cars zoomed past. Marcus began to think it was a silly idea.
Then he noticed that people were walking to the park across the road for a football match. He picked up his sign and moved the table right next to the park gate. Within ten minutes, a line had formed. By lunchtime, the jug was empty.
Marcus counted his coins. He had earned exactly fifteen dollars. With the five he already had, it was enough.
"You did it!" said Grandma.
"We did it," said Marcus. "And next time, I'll think about where the customers are before I start."
Question 10
Read "The Lemonade Stand". Who suggested the lemonade stand?
- A. his grandmother
- B. a customer
- C. Marcus's friend
- D. his teacher
The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter
The storm had been building all afternoon. By the time the sun set, waves as tall as houses were hurling themselves against the rocks below Gull Point Lighthouse, and the wind screamed around the tower like a wild animal.
Nell pressed her face to the window of the little cottage. Her father had rowed to the mainland that morning to fetch the doctor for Mrs Penrose, and the sea had turned before he could return. Now, for the first time in her twelve years, Nell was alone at the lighthouse.
She knew what that meant. Every night at dusk, the great lamp at the top of the tower had to be lit. Without it, ships would have no warning of the rocks.
Nell grabbed the lantern and her father's oilskin coat, which hung down past her knees, and pushed open the door. The wind nearly knocked her flat. Bent double, she stumbled across the yard and into the tower.
There were one hundred and twelve steps to the top. Nell had climbed them hundreds of times, but never in the dark, never with the whole tower trembling. Halfway up, her lantern flickered and almost went out. She stopped, cupped her hand around the flame and whispered, "Not now. Please, not now."
At the top, her fingers were numb with cold. She trimmed the wick the way her father had shown her, filled the oil and struck a match. Nothing. A second match. Nothing. With the third, a tiny flame caught, grew and then blazed, and the great lens began to turn, sweeping its beam across the furious sea.
Far out in the darkness, a ship's horn sounded twice. Nell did not know whose ship it was. But she knew that, tonight, it would find its way home.
Question 11
Read "The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter". Why was Nell alone at the lighthouse?
- A. Her father had gone fishing.
- B. She had run away from home.
- C. Her father was asleep.
- D. Her father had gone to fetch a doctor and could not get back.
Beavers Come Home
Four hundred years after they were hunted to extinction in Britain, beavers are back. Small populations now live wild in parts of Scotland and England, and several other European countries have reintroduced them too.
Ecologists describe beavers as "ecosystem engineers". By building dams, they create ponds and wetlands that slow the flow of water, trap sediment and provide homes for insects, amphibians and birds. In one Devon study, the amount of water flowing downstream during heavy rain was noticeably lower below beaver dams than above them, suggesting that dams can help reduce flooding.
Not everyone is delighted. Some farmers report flooded fields and felled trees, and they worry about the cost. Their concerns are real, and schemes in some areas now compensate landowners or move beavers whose dams cause serious damage.
Supporters argue that the benefits outweigh the costs. Wetlands created by beavers can store water during droughts, improve water quality and attract visitors. Yet researchers caution that results vary from river to river, and long-term data are still limited.
What is clear is that the return of beavers forces us to ask a broader question: how much room are we willing to make for wild animals in a crowded country?
Question 12
Read "Beavers Come Home". In paragraph 2, why are beavers called 'ecosystem engineers'?
- A. because they build roads
- B. because they destroy ecosystems
- C. because they reshape their environment in ways that affect many other species
- D. because they are trained by engineers
The Margin
Zainab had read the library book three times before she noticed the handwriting.
It was in the margin of page 112, so faint she had taken it for a smudge. In tiny, slanted letters, someone had written: "Don't trust the narrator." Underneath, in different ink and a rounder hand, someone else had replied: "Why not?" And beneath that, in the first writer's slant: "Read chapter 9 again."
She read chapter 9 again. Then she read it a fourth time, and a fifth, and on the sixth she saw it – a single sentence where the narrator claimed to have been at home when, three chapters earlier, he had described himself on a train. A lie, hidden in plain sight. The whole story tilted, like a picture knocked crooked on a wall.
Zainab sat back. She checked the date stamps on the card inside the front cover. The book had been borrowed forty-seven times since 1994. Somewhere among those forty-seven readers were two people who had held a conversation across years without ever meeting.
She found a pencil. For a long time she hesitated over the page, feeling as if she were about to speak in a room full of strangers. Then, carefully, beneath the other two, she wrote: "Found it. Thank you."
When she returned the book, the librarian frowned at the pencil marks. Zainab apologised. But as she walked home, she wondered who would be next to find them.
Question 13
Read "The Margin". What did the first note in the margin say?
- A. "Why not?"
- B. "Found it. Thank you."
- C. "Don't trust the narrator."
- D. "Read chapter 3 again."
Bugs in the Code
Theo had been looking forward to Coding Club all week. Ms Rivera had promised they would make their own animated story on the classroom tablets.
Theo chose a cartoon cat and wrote the code: when the green flag is clicked, move ten steps, then turn and wave. He clicked the flag. The cat spun round and round like a washing machine and never stopped.
"It's broken!" Theo groaned, and he pushed the tablet away.
Ms Rivera sat down beside him. "It's not broken," she said. "It's got a bug. Every coder gets bugs. The trick is to be a detective." Together they read the code one block at a time. Theo had put the turn block inside a forever loop by mistake, so the cat kept turning for ever.
Theo dragged the block out of the loop and clicked the flag again. The cat walked ten steps, turned and waved. Theo cheered so loudly that the whole club looked up.
The next week, a younger girl called Ivy was close to tears because her rocket would not take off. Theo pulled up a chair. "It's not broken," he told her. "It's got a bug. Let's be detectives."
Question 14
Read "Bugs in the Code". What went wrong with Theo's cat at first?
- A. It disappeared from the screen.
- B. It would not move at all.
- C. It turned into a rocket.
- D. It spun round and round and never stopped.
Lady Montagu and the Smallpox Gamble
In the early eighteenth century, smallpox was one of the most feared diseases in Europe. It killed around three in every ten people it infected and left many survivors scarred or blind. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu knew its cruelty personally: the disease had killed her brother and marked her own face.
In 1717, while living in Constantinople (now Istanbul), where her husband was the British ambassador, she observed a remarkable practice. Local women would take a small amount of material from a mild smallpox sore and scratch it into the skin of a healthy person. The person usually developed a mild illness and was then protected for life. This process was called variolation.
Montagu was so impressed that she had her young son variolated. When she returned to England, she campaigned to spread the practice, despite fierce opposition. Some doctors resented being taught by a woman; others distrusted a practice from abroad. To win public confidence, Montagu had her daughter variolated in front of physicians from the royal court.
Variolation was not without risk: a small number of patients developed severe smallpox, and they could infect others. Decades later, in 1796, Edward Jenner developed a safer method using cowpox, a related but much milder disease. His method, called vaccination after the Latin word for cow, gradually replaced variolation.
Smallpox was declared eradicated worldwide in 1980. Jenner is often called the father of vaccination, but the story began with the courage of a woman who noticed what others had overlooked.
Question 15
Read "Lady Montagu and the Smallpox Gamble". What does "eradicated" mean in the final paragraph?
- A. made more dangerous
- B. spread widely
- C. completely wiped out
- D. discovered
How Bees Make Honey
Honey bees are busy insects. They live together in a home called a hive. One hive can hold thousands of bees.
Worker bees fly from flower to flower. They suck up a sweet juice called nectar with their long tongues. They carry the nectar back to the hive in a special part of their body called a honey stomach.
Back at the hive, the bees pass the nectar to other bees. These bees put it into tiny six-sided rooms made of wax. The nectar is still runny, so the bees fan it with their wings. This dries it out and turns it thick and sticky. Now it is honey!
Last, the bees cover each room with a wax lid. The honey is saved for the winter, when there are no flowers.
Question 16
Read "How Bees Make Honey". What is nectar?
- A. a kind of wax
- B. a type of insect
- C. a sweet juice from flowers
- D. a bee's home
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