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7th Grade Reading Comprehension
Sample 7th grade reading comprehension questions grouped by skill, including main idea, inference, vocabulary, text evidence, and more. Great for quick practice or to see what a skill actually looks like in a question.
Explicit information
Finding facts and details that are directly stated in the text.
Why do beavers build dams?
- To keep the entrance to their lodge underwater✓ correct answer
- To provide people with dry roads
- To make every stream disappear
- To water nearby farms
What is the main purpose of the group’s visit to the signal hut?
- To conduct a scheduled demonstration of historical communication✓ correct answer
- To repair the causeway before high tide
- To deliver supplies to a fishing boat
- To replace the harbor coordinator’s radio
Main idea
Identifying what a passage is mostly about, not just one detail from it.
What is the passage mainly explaining?
- Beaver dams reshape habitats in useful and sometimes difficult ways.✓ correct answer
- Beavers plan wetlands with human researchers.
- Every beaver dam remains forever.
- Only beavers can create a meadow.
Which statement best expresses a main idea of the story?
- Reliable communication depends on shared rules, preparation, and confirmation.✓ correct answer
- The brightest flag is always the most useful signal.
- Old communication systems work better than modern ones.
- A written plan removes the need for people to cooperate.
Inference
Drawing a conclusion from clues in the text that are implied, not stated outright.
Why may a pond become a meadow after beavers leave?
- The dam is no longer repaired, so water drains more quickly.✓ correct answer
- Birds carry all the water away.
- Managers fill every pond with soil.
- Groundwater suddenly rises.
Why does Mara change her mind about which part of the activity matters most?
- She sees that the flag has meaning only because everyone follows the same plan and code.✓ correct answer
- She decides that the flag is too faded to be seen.
- She learns that the harbor team did not observe the signal.
- She prefers writing because she is not allowed outside.
Vocabulary in context
Figuring out what a word means from how it is used in the passage.
What does settle mean when mud and sand settle?
- Come to rest in one place✓ correct answer
- Disappear completely
- Flow much faster
- Rise into the air
What does designated mean in the description of the radio channel?
- Chosen for a particular purpose✓ correct answer
- Broken into several parts
- Hidden from the harbor
- Used without permission
Purpose and structure
Understanding why the author organized or wrote the passage the way they did.
Why does the fourth paragraph pair conflicts with solutions?
- To show that dam effects can cause problems that people try to manage✓ correct answer
- To prove beavers intend to flood basements
- To switch to an imaginary story
- To describe only a beaver’s body
How does the passage connect historical and modern communication?
- It shows an old flag system during an exercise coordinated and confirmed by radio.✓ correct answer
- It argues that radios caused flag systems to disappear immediately.
- It tells two unrelated stories in separate time periods.
- It explains that the historical flags and modern radio use the same technology.
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