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The Sack Garden: Reading Comprehension

The Sack Garden: Reading Comprehension

Read the text on the left and answer the questions.

Choose the best answer for each question.

The Sack Garden


This is Meg. Meg lives in South Africa. She has three kids. It is hard to feed her kids. White people own most of the farmland in South Africa. Meg does not have land for a garden. Food costs a lot of money.

But Meg has a very good way to grow food. She finds a big sack. She puts rocks in the middle of the sack. She fills the rest of the sack with dirt. She makes little holes in the side of the sack. She puts a tomato plant in one hole. She puts a bean plant in one hole. She puts a green pepper plant in one hole. She puts eggplant in the top of the sack. She waters the sack garden from the top.

Her garden does not need much water. Her garden does not need much room. Her garden does not cost much money to make. Her garden does not have many weeds.

Now Meg can feed her kids.


 
Credits:

Story by Shantel Ivits at BC Open Textbooks
Drawings by Carlee Ashton Diabo
Story and drawings adapted under Creative Commons license
Story adaptations and exercises by Douglas Rodger, English Language Centre
Audio version performed by Cam Culham, English Language Centre






 

  1. What is something that is difficult for Meg?
    1.   It is difficult for her to understand white people.
    2.   She can't be creative.
    3.   It is hard for her to feed her children.
    4.   It is difficult for her to control the weeds in her garden.
  2. What is Meg's way of growing food?
    1.   She uses special seeds.
    2.   She gets help from her neighbors.
    3.   She keeps different kinds of fruits and vegetables in different sacks.
    4.   She puts different kinds of food in a sack that doesn't need much room or water.
  3. There is something Meg does not grow in the little holes in the side of the sack. What is it?
    1.   Tomatoes
    2.   Eggplant
    3.   A bean plant
    4.   Green pepper
  4. Which of the following is NOT something good about Meg's garden?
    1.   It does not need much water.
    2.   It can grow a lot of food very quickly.
    3.   It does not need much space.
    4.   There are not many weeds in Meg's garden.
  5. Why doesn't Meg grow food in the same way as other farmers?
    1.   There is not enough water.
    2.   There are too many weeds.
    3.   It would cost too much money.
    4.   She does not have any land.