Primary 5 English Comprehension Exercise (4) Grade: ______________

Name: _______________________ ( ) P. 5 ( ) Date: ______________________

A. Chloe is reading a passage about Helen Keller. Read the passage and answer the
questions.

1 When Helen Keller was almost two years old, she got sick with a high fever.
2 Because of that, she could not see or hear. Soon, she could not talk. Her parents
3 were so sad.

4 When Helen was seven years old, a teacher called Anne Sullivan came to see
5 Helen’s parents. Helen’s mum told Anne, “Helen can’t see or hear for five years. She
6 is dumb too so she can’t tell us what she wants or how she feels. She has had many
7 teachers before but they couldn’t understand her and Helen was like a wild animal in
8 class. One by one they left.”

9 The next morning, Anne had breakfast with Helen’s family. Helen was walking
10 around the table and eating everyone’s food with her hands. Anne said to Helen’s
11 parents, “I will teach Helen right now but I need a private place.”

12 The servant took Anne and Helen to the nearby house and she left. At the next
13 meal at the house, Helen ate very noisily and messily again. So, Anne took away
14 Helen’s food. Finally, Helen sat down at the table. Anne returned Helen’s plate of
15 food. But Anne did not let her eat until Helen sat still and used a spoon.

16 A few days later, Helen and Anne came to her parents’ home for dinner. Helen
17 could sit still at the table and eat with a spoon. They were so surprised.
18 “Unbelievable! I have never thought Helen would learn again!” Helen’s mum
19 cried.

Choose the correct answers for Questions 1-6. Blacken the circles.

1. Chloe is reading a __________.

○ A. biography ○ B. poem ○ C. notice ○ D. report

2. Which of the following was true about Helen Keller?

 A. She was blind when she was born.
 B. Anne was her only teacher.
 C. She learnt how to eat properly from her first teacher.
 D. She could not see, hear or talk when she met Anne Sullivan.

P.10
3. What was it like when Helen had lessons before she met Anne Sullivan?
(You may choose more than one answer.)
 A. The teachers could not stop her bad behaviour.
 B. Helen liked learning about wild animals.
 C. The teachers did not know what Helen wanted.
 D. Helen and the teachers were happy.

4. About how long might Helen learn to eat properly?

 A. Five years.  B. Three months.  C. Two weeks.  D. Six days.

5. In line 6, what does ‘dumb’ mean?

Adjective
1. Not able to speak for a short time
e.g. She stood dumb while watching the fighting scenes in the movie.
2. Not clever
e.g. They always call him dumb.
3. Completely unable to speak
e.g. He was born deaf and dumb.
4. Silly or annoying
e.g. I don’t want to make dumb mistakes.

 A. 1  B. 2  C. 3  D. 4

6. In line 18: ‘Unbelievable! I have never thought Helen would learn again!’
Helen’s mum was ___________.
 A. scared  B. excited  C. angry  D. worried

Answer Questions 7-8 in complete sentences.

7. In line 17 , what does ‘they’ refer to?

________________________________________________________________________

8. According to Paragraph 4, what did Anne want Helen to do when eating?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

P.11
B. Make a bookmark to tell your teacher what you have learnt from Helen Keller.

P.12