English Reading Comprehension For Grade 5 Children

• Passage-1: My Nephew
• Passage-2: Bu-cola
• Passage-3: Yusri and Yusra
• Passage-4: Mother
• Passage-5: Pangolins
• Passage-6: Earthquakes
• Passage-7: When Your Time Comes
• Passage-8: Collecting Fossils
• Passage-9: The Bicycle
• Passage-10: The Egg and the Bottle
• Passage-11: Sasha’s Night Alone
• Passage-12: About The Cat
• Passage-13: Isle Of Jormuguar
• Passage-14: Shoes: Taking One Step at A Time

Passage 10 - The Egg and the Bottle

Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions that follow.

The astounding experiment I am about to describe proves that air is all around you and that it presses down on you. Air pressure is a powerful force. When you swim underwater, you can feel water pushing on your body. When you are on land, the air all around you pushes you too. However, your body is so accustomed to it that you are not aware of this. This pressure is exerted by a layer of air termed the atmosphere. This layer surrounds Earth, extending to about ten kilometers above its surface.

When astronauts go into outer space, where there is no air pressure, they are able to float about freely. Things undetached and detachable in the spaceship have to be secured or they will float around also. Can you imagine trying to clean your teeth when your toothbrush and toothpaste keep floating away? When they return to Earth’s atmosphere, astronauts report that they can feel the air pressure, but eventually, their bodies get used to it once more.

The following experiment is one that you can do at home. But make sure that you have a responsible adult with you, because you will need to use matches.

What you need:
- A hard-boiled egg without the shell
- A bottle with a neck slightly narrower than the egg
- A piece of paper
- A match

Method:
1. Make sure that the egg can sit firmly on the neck of the bottle.
2. Tear the paper into small strips and put them into the bottle.
3. Light a match and put it into the bottle, thus lighting the paper
4. Place the egg firmly on the neck of the bottle.

Results:
Astonishingly, the egg will be sucked into the bottle with a gurgle and a pop! Your friends will be amazed when you show them the experiment. But be careful when you handle matches.

Explanation:
As the paper burns, it uses up the oxygen in the air in the bottle. The egg functions as a seal in the neck of the bottle, so no more air from outside can get inside. Immediately, the air pressure inside the bottle is reduced. However, the air pressure in and outside the bottle must be equal; so, air from the outside has to get into the bottle. The outside air presses against the egg – presto! – the egg is pushed into the bottle! This process shows us that air is all around us and that it is pressing down.

Questions

Choose the correct answer

• 1. What does the experiment set out to prove?
  a. Water exerts pressure on your body when you swim underwater.
  b. Earth is surrounded by a layer of air when you swim underwater.
  c. Air is all around you and it presses on you. d. There is no air pressure in space.
• Which one of these words is closest in meaning to ‘astounding’ in the first paragraph?
  a. Difficult
  b. Surprising
  c. Scientific
  d. Amusing
• Why do objects float freely around when a spaceship is in outer space?
  a. The air in space is like water.
  b. The spaceship is moving forward all the time.
  c. There is no oxygen.
  d. There is no air pressure to help hold them down.
• Why is there a need to take care when you are doing the experiment with the egg and bottle?
  a. The bottle could break.
  b. You need to use a match to light the paper.
  c. The egg needs to be shelled.
  d. The egg should be perfectly placed on the neck of the bottle.
• How did the egg get into the bottle?
  a. The egg was sucked in by the oxygen inside the bottle.
  b. Air from the outside pressed on the egg and forced it into the bottle.
  c. The egg fell into the bottle because the neck of the bottle was wide.
  d. The egg formed a seal at the top of the bottle.

Read each statement carefully. Write “T” besides the statement if it is true and “F” if it is false.

6. All round Earth is a layer of air called the atmosphere.

7. Astronauts have to adjust to Earth’s atmosphere when they return from space.

8. Astronauts have to pass through the atmosphere on their way to outer space.

9. The egg allowed only a small amount of air into the bottle.

10. Scientists use experiments like this to prove things that we cannot see.

Answer Key

Choose the correct answer and write its letter in the brackets provided.

• C
• B
• D
• B
• B
• T
• T
• T
• F
• T