English 4 - Reading activity © credit to the owner

1. English 4
Reading Worksheet
Name:________________________________________________________________
Date: ________________________ Score: _________________________
THE BEE
Bees live in a house that is called a hive. There are
three kinds of bees: workers, drones, and queens.
Only one queen bee can live in each hive. If she is
lost or dead, the other bees will stop their work.
Bees are very wise and busy little creatures. They
all join together to build cells of wax for their
honey. Each bee takes its proper place and does its own work. Some go out and
gather honey from the flowers; others stay at home and work inside the hive.
The cells which they build are all of one shape and size, and no room is left
between them. The cells are not round. They have six sides.
Did you ever look into a glass hive to see the bees while at work? It is pleasant
to see how busy they always are.
But the drones do not work. Before winter comes, all the drones are driven from
the hive so that they don’t eat the honey which they did not gather.
It is not safe for children to handle bees. Bees have a painful sting that they use
in their defense.

2. Questions
1. How many sides does a cell in the hive have?
a. three
b. four
c. six
d. seven
2. What happens to the drones in the winter?
a. They sleep.
b. They find a new hive.
c. They are driven out.
d. They repair the hive.
3. Which is not a kind of bee?
a. workers
b. Kings
c. Queens
d. drones
4. Which word describes bees?
a. hard-working
b. lazy
c. stupid
d. cuddly
5. Bees have _________ that they use in their defense.
a. sting
b. ink
c. honey
d. wings

3. English 4
Reading Worksheet
Name:________________________________________________________________
Date: ________________________ Score: _________________________
FORTUNE AND THE BEGGAR
One day a ragged beggar was creeping along
from house. He carried an old wallet in his
hand and was asking at every door for a few
cents to buy something to eat. As he was
grumbling at his misfortune, he kept
wondering why it was that folks who had so
much money were never satisfied but were
always wanting more.
“Here,” said he, “is the master of this house - I know him well. He was always a
good business man, and he made himself wondrously rich a long time ago. Had he
been wise, he would have stopped then. He would have turned over his business
to someone else, and then he could have spent the rest of his life in ease. But
what did he do instead? He built ships and sent them to sea to trade with foreign
lands. He thought he would get mountains of gold.”
But there weregreat storms on the water; his ships were wrecked, andhis riches
were swallowed up by the waves. Now all his hopes lie at the bottom of the sea,
and his great wealth has vanished.”
“There are many such cases. Men seem to never be satisfied unless they gain the
whole world.”

4. “As for me, if I had only enough to eat and to buy clothing, I would not want
anything more.”
Just at that moment, Fortune came down the street. She saw the beggar and
stopped. She said to him:
“Listen! I have long wished to help you. Hold your wallet, and I will pour this gold
into it, but only on this condition: all that falls into the wallet shall be pure gold,
but every piece that fallsupon the groundshall become dust. Do you understand?”
“Oh yes, I understand,” said the beggar.
“Then be careful,” said Fortune. “Your wallet is old, so do not load it too heavily.”
The beggar was so glad that he could hardly wait. He quickly opened his wallet,
and a stream of yellow dollars poured into it. The wallet grew heavy.
“Is that enough?” asked Fortune.
“Not yet.”
“Isn’t it cracking?”
“Never fear.”
The beggar’s hands to tremble. Ah, if the gold would only pour forever!
“You are the richest man in the world now!”
“Just a little more, add just a handful or two.”
“There, it’s full. The wallet will burst.”
“But it will hold just a little more!”
Another piece was added, and the wallet split. The treasure fell upon the ground
and turned to dust. The beggar had nothing now but his empty wallet, and it was
torn from top to bottom. He was poor as before.

5. Questions
1. Why did the master of the house lose all of his money?
a. A robber stole it from him.
b. His ships sank at sea.
c. His treasure turned to dust.
d. He gave it all away to the poor.
2. What is the beggar’s wallet like?
a. red
b. fancy
c. slippery
d. old
3. Which word best describes the beggar?
a. greedy
b. happy
c. wise
d. weak
4. Why do you think Fortune gives the gold to the beggar?
a. He has too much gold already.
b. To teach him a lesson.
c. He likes the way the beggar dresses.

6. English 3
Reading Worksheet
Name:________________________________________________________________
Date: ________________________ Score: _________________________
Achoo!
by Cynthia Sherwood
Achoo! We all sneeze sometimes. Sneezing is a
reflex that your body does automatically. That
means you cannot make yourself sneeze or stop one
once it has started. When you sneeze, your body is
trying to get rid of bad things in your nose, such as
bacteria. You have extra germs when you have a cold,
so you sneeze a lot more. You might also sneeze when
you smell pepper!
Inside your nose, there are hundreds of tiny
hairs. These hairs filter the air you breathe.
Sometimes dust and pollen find their way through
these hairs and bother your nasal passages. The nerves in the lining of your nose
tell your brain that something is invading your body.
Your brain, lungs, nose, mouth, and the muscles of your upper body work
together to blow away the invaders with a sneeze. When you sneeze, germs from
your nose get blown into the air. Using a tissue or “sneezing into your sleeve”
captures most of these germs. It is very important to wash your hands after you
sneeze into them, especially during cold and flu season.
Do you ever sneeze when you walkinto bright sunlight? About 25% of people
experience this phenomenon. Scientist believe that the brain gets confused when
signals from the optic nerve trigger the sneezing reflex in direct sunlight. This
usually runs in families.

7. If someone nearby sneezes, remember to tell them “Gesundheit!” That is
funny-looking word which is pronounces “geez-oont-hite.” It is the German word
that wishes someone good health after sneezing.
Questions:
1. Which part of the body work together when you sneeze?
a. brain, lungs, nose, mouth, and the muscles of your upper body
b. nose, mouth, teeth and eyes
c. ears, mouth, and eyes
2. What does the German word gesundheit mean?
a. I wish you good health.
b. I wish you a good day.
c. I wish you would stop sneezing.
3. Why do some people sneeze when they walk into bright sunlight?
a. The brain gets confused when signals from the optic nerve trigger the
sneezing reflex in direct sunlight.
b. The brain is at ease with the sunlight.
c. It runs in neighbors.
4. Phenomenon means _______________
a. relating to the nose
b. cause something to happen
c. an event or occurrence
5. What is the percentage of people experienced sneezing when walking into
bright sunlight?
a. 25%
b. 30%
c. 65%