Reading Comprehension practice by moments Chapter The Lost Child
Here are key passages of approximately 200 words each from the original text of “The Lost Child,” which are ideal for creating multiple-choice questions.
Passage 1: The Entrance to the Fair
A child along with his parents, went to a fair. He was happy and excited and wanted the toys displayed at the shops. His parents refused to buy him the toys. Then, they moved on. He was attracted by the flowering mustard fields. They were pale like melting gold, and stretched for miles. A group of dragon-flies were bustling about on their gaudy purple wings, intercepting the flight of a lone black bee or butterfly in search of sweetness from the flowers. The child followed them in the air with his gaze, till one of them would still its wings and rest, and he would try to catch it. But it would go fluttering, flapping, up into the air, when he had almost caught it in his hands. Then his mother gave a cautionary call, “Come, child, come, come on to the footpath.” He ran towards his parents gaily and walked abreast of them for a while, being, however, soon left behind, attracted by the little insects and worms along the footpath that were teeming out from their hiding places to enjoy the sunshine.
MCQs
- What did the child want from the shops?
a) Sweets
b) Balloons
c) Toys
d) Books
Answer: c) Toys - The mustard fields were described as being like…?
a) Green carpets
b) Melting gold
c) A blue sky
d) Purple hills
Answer: b) Melting gold - The wings of the dragon-flies were described as…?
a) Tiny
b) Gaudy purple
c) Pale yellow
d) Transparent
Answer: b) Gaudy purple - What did the child try to do to the dragon-flies?
a) Catch them
b) Feed them
c) Draw them
d) Shoo them away
Answer: a) Catch them - Who gave a “cautionary call” to the child?
a) His father
b) A shopkeeper
c) His mother
d) A stranger
Answer: c) His mother - Where did the mother call the child to come?
a) To the shop
b) To the footpath
c) To the field
d) To the cart
Answer: b) To the footpath - The child was soon left behind again because he was attracted to…?
a) Birds
b) Insects and worms
c) Other children
d) A stray puppy
Answer: b) Insects and worms - The insects and worms were coming out to enjoy the…?
a) Rain
b) Flowers
c) Sunshine
d) Food
Answer: c) Sunshine - The word “gaudy” used to describe the wings means…?
a) Dull
b) Small
c) Bright
d) Broken
Answer: c) Bright - What was the main reason the child kept lagging behind?
a) He was tired
b) He was disobedient
c) He was fascinated
d) He was hungry
Answer: c) He was fascinated
Passage 2: The Attractions Within the Fair
As they neared the village the child could see many other footpaths full of throngs, converging to the whirlpool of the fair, and felt at once repelled and fascinated by the confusion of the world he was entering. A sweetmeat seller hawked, “gulab-jaman, rasgulla, burfi, jalebi,” at the corner of the entrance and a crowd pressed round his counter at the foot of an architecture of many coloured sweets, decorated with leaves of silver and gold. The child stared open-eyed and his mouth watered for the burfi that was his favourite sweet. “I want that burfi,” he slowly murmured. But he half knew as he begged that his plea would not be heeded because his parents would say he was greedy. So without waiting for an answer, he moved on. A flower-seller hawked, “A garland of gulmohur, a garland of gulmohur!” The child seemed irresistibly drawn. He went towards the basket where the flowers lay heaped and half murmured, “I want that garland.” But he well knew his parents would refuse to buy him those flowers because they would say that they were cheap. So, without waiting for an answer, he moved on.
MCQs for Passage 2
- The child felt both repelled and fascinated by the fair’s…?
a) Loud noises
b) Bright lights
c) Confusion
d) Large size
Answer: c) Confusion - Which of these sweets was NOT mentioned by the hawker?
a) Gulab-jaman
b) Ladoo
c) Burfi
d) Jalebi
Answer: b) Ladoo - What was the child’s favourite sweet?
a) Rasgulla
b) Burfi
c) Jalebi
d) Gulab-jaman
Answer: b) Burfi - The child murmured for the burfi because he knew his parents would call him…?
a) Naughty
b) Greedy
c) Silly
d) Tired
Answer: b) Greedy - The sweets were decorated with leaves of…?
a) Mint and basil
b) Silver and gold
c) Plastic
d) Betel
Answer: b) Silver and gold - What kind of garland was the flower-seller selling?
a) Rose
b) Marigold
c) Jasmine
d) Gulmohur
Answer: d) Gulmohur - His parents would refuse the garland because they would say the flowers were…?
a) Expensive
b) Cheap
c) Wilted
d) Fake
Answer: b) Cheap - The word “converging” means moving towards a…?
a) Single point
b) Circle
c) New path
d) Higher place
Answer: a) Single point - After wanting something, the child always…?
a) Cried loudly
b) Sat down
c) Moved on
d) Argued
Answer: c) Moved on - This passage mainly shows the child’s…?
a) Anger
b) Fear
c) Suppressed desires
d) Joy
Answer: c) Suppressed desires
Passage 3: The Realization of Being Lost
There was no room to stand. A little ahead, in a temple, it was very crowded. Men jostled each other. The poor child struggled to make his way between the feet of the men. But he was knocked to and fro by their brutal movements. He might have been trampled underfoot, had he not shrieked at the highest pitch of his voice: “Father, Mother!” A man in the surging crowd heard his cry and, stooping with great difficulty, lifted him up in his arms. “How did you get here, child? Whose baby are you?” the man asked as he steered clear of the mass. The child wept more bitterly than ever now and only cried, “I want my mother, I want my father!” The man tried to soothe him by taking him to the roundabout. “Will you have a ride on the horse?” he gently asked as he approached the ring. The child’s throat tore into a thousand shrill sobs and he only shouted, “I want my mother, I want my father!” The man headed towards the place where the snake-charmer still played on the flute to the swaying cobra. “Listen to that nice music, child!” he pleaded.
MCQs for Passage 3
- Where in the fair was it extremely crowded?
a) Near the entrance
b) In a temple
c) At the sweet shop
d) By the roundabout
Answer: b) In a temple - The child was almost…?
a) Lost in the dark
b) Hit by a cart
c) Trampled underfoot
d) Ignored by everyone
Answer: c) Trampled underfoot - How did the child get attention in the crowd?
a) He pulled a man’s shirt
b) He cried silently
c) He shrieked loudly
d) He fell down
Answer: c) He shrieked loudly - Who heard the child’s cry?
a) A policeman
b) A priest
c) His mother
d) A man in the crowd
Answer: d) A man in the crowd - What did the man do for the child first?
a) Gave him water
b) Lifted him up
c) Bought him a toy
d) Asked for his name
Answer: b) Lifted him up - What did the child cry when the man picked him up?
a) “I am lost”
b) “I want my mother, I want my father!”
c) “Where am I?”
d) “I am hungry”
Answer: b) “I want my mother, I want my father!” - Where did the man first take the child to soothe him?
a) To the roundabout
b) To the sweet-seller
c) To the temple priest
d) To the fair’s exit
Answer: a) To the roundabout - What did the man offer the child at the roundabout?
a) A balloon
b) A sweet
c) A ride on the horse
d) A flower garland
Answer: c) A ride on the horse - How did the child respond to the offer of a ride?
a) He nodded happily
b) He stayed silent
c) His throat tore into sobs
d) He pointed at the horse
Answer: c) His throat tore into sobs - After the roundabout, where did the man take the child?
a) To the balloon-seller
b) To the flower-seller
c) To the snake-charmer
d) To the police tent
Answer: c) To the snake-charmer
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