Comprehension Skills Worksheet
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Comprehension Skills Worksheet
The Last Bus to Kōwhai Bay
At 4.18 pm, the rain began to drum on the shelter roof. Maia checked the timetable again. The last bus to Kōwhai Bay was due in seven minutes, but the road beyond the old quarry had been marked with a red warning sign: SLIPS POSSIBLE. Her little brother, Ari, nudged the paper bag between his shoes. Inside it was a still-warm loaf from the bakery. “Mum said not to squash it,” he reminded her, as if the bread were a sleeping animal. A gust of wind pushed rain under the shelter. Across the road, water streamed down the hillside in narrow, shining threads. Maia watched a clump of toetoe bend almost flat, then spring upright. The hill looked unsettled, she thought—like someone trying to hide a secret. The bus appeared around the bend, moving slowly. It stopped beside them, but the driver kept the doors closed. “There’s a slip just past the quarry,” he called through the glass. “We can’t go through. I’m turning back to the hall.” Ari’s face fell. Their mother was waiting at home, and the loaf was for dinner. Maia glanced at the river below the road. It was higher than she had ever seen it, carrying branches in its brown current. The direct route was impossible. The footbridge, however, stood on the higher side of the valley, though it meant a longer walk. “We’ll go to the hall with the others,” Maia said. She took the paper bag from Ari and tucked it beneath her raincoat. “Then we’ll ring Mum and work out the safest way home.” At the hall, the bus driver phoned the council to report the slip. Maia borrowed the landline and spoke to her mother. By the time the rain eased, a neighbour had arrived with a four-wheel-drive vehicle and offered to take them around the hill. The bread had survived, though one corner was slightly flattened. Ari examined it solemnly. “It’s still edible.” Maia laughed. Outside, the clouds were beginning to lift. The hill had not been hiding a secret after all; it had simply needed everyone to pay attention.
Understand and interpret
Answer using evidence from the passage where requested.
- The bus has run out of fuel.
- A slip has blocked or made the road unsafe beyond the quarry.
- Maia and Ari have missed the bus.
- The river has washed away the bus shelter.
- It is below the road.
- It is higher than Maia has ever seen it and carrying branches.
- It is on the higher side of the valley.
- It is close to the bus shelter.
- current
- direct
- solemnly
- ease
- shortest or most straightforward
- become less intense
- the flow of water
- in a serious manner
- Maia looks for a safe solution, while Ari is disappointed about the delay and worried about the bread.
- Maia refuses to contact their mother, while Ari takes charge of the journey.
- Maia is frightened of the bus, while Ari wants to walk through the slip.
- Both siblings ignore the danger and focus only on dinner.
4 printable pages
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Page 2
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