Comprehension Passage

Read the passage, then answer the 5 questions that follow. Marking schemes are included.

Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow

Wanjiru lived in a small village near the edge of a forest in Nyeri. Every morning before school, she carried a clay pot to the river to fetch water for her grandmother. The path was steep and the pot was heavy, but she never complained. She knew that without the water, there would be no porridge for breakfast and no tea for her grandmother, who was too old to walk the long distance.

One dry season, the river began to shrink. The water grew muddy and brown, and many families had to dig deep holes in the sand to find clean water. Wanjiru noticed that her neighbours wasted water by leaving their taps and pots open. She decided to teach the younger children in the village how to use every drop carefully and how to keep the river banks clean.

With the help of her teacher, Mr Otieno, Wanjiru started a small club at school. The members planted trees along the river to hold the soil and shade the water. They picked up plastic and rubbish that people had thrown into the stream. Slowly, the river grew clearer, and birds returned to nest in the branches above it.

By the end of the year, the village elders praised the children for their hard work. Wanjiru felt proud, but she reminded everyone that the river belonged to all of them. Protecting it was not the job of one person alone. She promised to keep caring for the water that had given her family life for so many years.

  1. Question 1

    1 mark

    Why did Wanjiru fetch water every morning before school?

    A. To water the trees her club had planted

    B. To provide water for porridge and tea, since her grandmother could not walk far

    C. To sell the water to her neighbours

    D. To fill the deep holes dug in the sand

    (1 mark)

    Marking scheme

    B. To provide water for porridge and tea, since her grandmother could not walk far

  2. Question 2

    1 mark

    What happened to the river during the dry season?

    A. It was filled with fish

    B. It dried up completely

    C. It shrank and the water became muddy and brown

    D. It flooded the village

    (1 mark)

    Marking scheme for this question

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  3. Question 3

    1 mark

    The word 'shrink' as used in the passage means to become

    A. larger

    B. cleaner

    C. faster

    D. smaller

    (1 mark)

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  4. Question 4

    1 mark

    What can we learn about Wanjiru's character from the passage?

    A. She is fearful and shy

    B. She is selfish and proud

    C. She is responsible and caring towards others

    D. She is lazy and careless

    (1 mark)

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  5. Question 5

    1 mark

    The best title for this passage would be

    A. The Lazy Neighbours

    B. Mr Otieno's School

    C. A Trip to the City

    D. Wanjiru and the River

    (1 mark)

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  6. 4 more marking schemes are on this page. A free account opens all of them, and lets you build your own paper on the topics you have actually taught, laid out in KNEC format with its full marking scheme.

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