Reading Comprehension for Grade 4

Harry and Merah

1. Harry was very happy not only because he had just turned twelve. He had also received a beautiful water creature as a surprise birthday gift from his father. He had kept the small reddish goldfish in a fishbowl. He was thrilled about his new pet. He called it Merah. “I wish Merah could talk. If he could talk, I could have chatted with him,” he said wistfully.

2. Harry’s father advised him to change the water in the bowl every now and then, but to always leave some of the old water in the bowl. Harry looked after Merah with great care. He fed him daily and changed his water once every three days. He put the bowl on the table near the window in his bedroom. He also decorated the bowl with small colourful stones in it. He got his father to buy a tiny ship that looked like a wreck and placed it in the bowl. Altogether, the fishbowl looked really great.

3. As days passed, Harry was getting busy with outdoor and sport activities. His late afternoons were filled with football training sessions. Merah was left unfed. The water in the bowl gradually turned brownish.

4. One fine afternoon, Harry’s team won a football match. He came home happily with a gold medal. When Harry opened his bedroom door, he saw Merah floating on the surface of the water in the bowl. Harry took a closer look. He started to panic when he noticed that Merah appeared to be a bit whitish and was hardly moving. Hearing his cries, his father rushed to his room. He hurriedly took a small net and took Merah out of the bowl. “Come on. Change the water,” he said. Very soon Harry had the fishbowl with clean water in it. Then his father put Merah back in the bowl.

5. Harry and his father waited for Merah to move, but there was no sign of life from the fish. “He is dead,” said Harry with tears streaming down his cheeks. Suddenly they saw bubbles coming out from Merah’s mouth. It moved quite sluggishly, perhaps trying to swim with its fins and tail. Harry wiped his tears and quickly nursed Merah with fish food. He realized that it was his mistake and felt guilty for being unappreciative of what his father had given him.

6. “You learnt a lesson today. Please be responsible for what belongs to you,” said Harry’s father. “I will. Don’t worry Merah. I assure you that you will be looked after with great care from now on,” said Harry with a confident smile.

From paragraph 1

1. What was the surprise gift that Harry had received from his father on his 12th birthday?

2. Which word in this paragraph means ‘excited’?

From paragraph 2

3. In what ways did Harry take care of Merah?

From paragraph 3

4. Why did the water in the bowl turn brownish?

From paragraph 4

5. Why did Harry begin to panic?

6. Write down two words from this paragraph that convey the idea of speed.

From paragraph 5

7. Write down the meaning of the word ‘sluggishly’ as it is used in this paragraph.

From the whole passage.

8. TRUE or FALSE or NO INFORMATION?
a) Harry liked his goldfish a lot.
b) Harry’s father thought Harry was lazy.
c) Harry was good at football.
d) The goldfish was very expensive.
e) Harry wanted the goldfish to die.
f) Merah died due to lack of oxygen.
g) Harry felt guilty that he did not take care of Merah.

Answer Key

• The surprise gift was a gold fish.
• The word is ‘thrilled’.
• Harry fed him daily and changed his water once every three days.
• Harry did not change the water in the bowl as he was busy with outdoor and sport activities.
• Harry started to panic when he noticed that Merah appeared to be a bit whitish and was hardly moving
• The two words are ‘hurriedly’ and ‘rushed’.
• ‘Sluggishly’ means ‘slowly’.
• TRUE or FALSE or NO INFORMATION?
  a) Harry liked his goldfish a lot. TRUE
  b) Harry’s father thought Harry was lazy. NO INFORMATION
  c) Harry was good at football. TRUE
  d) The goldfish was very expensive. NO INFORMATION
  e) Harry wanted the goldfish to die. FALSE
  f) Merah died due to lack of oxygen. FALSE
  g) Harry felt guilty that he did not take care of Merah. TRUE