Rulang Primary SchoolEnglish Department

Comprehension Worksheet (7)

Name: ___________________________ ( ) Marks: ________/ 10

Class : Primary 3 _______ Date : ___________

Read the following letter carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Dear Royston,

Belated Merry Christmas to you! How have you been? I’m sure you have

had a busy time celebrating with your family and church friends. I just have to tell

you an incident which took place in the army camp that I am with last week.

On Christmas Eve, last Tuesday afternoon, my platoon mates and I had a

fright. We were having some snacks during an exercise break when a small

round object suddenly landed very near us.

Someone screamed, “Grenade!” All of us ran for cover. Thank goodness

nothing happened! Can you imagine being blown to pieces at the age of

eighteen? The grenade turned out to be a harmless plastic ball. Our captain said

he wanted to see how we would react when in shock. As a result, I woke up

several times in the night and did not get a good sleep.

Three days later, a new recruit, Bala joined us. Hazim said that the captain

must be fair and do it again. Our dear friend said that he would.

Do you know how Bala reacted? He actually threw himself on top of the

‘grenade’, ready to sacrifice his life to save all of us. Unbelievable, isn’t it? Even

our captain was amazed by his reaction.

It will be New Year’s Day soon. Pity I’ll be stuck at camp again. Let’s meet

up in the second week of January. I should be free that weekend.

Yours sincerely,

Teck Beng

1. How old is Teck Beng?

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2. Who threw the first ‘grenade’??

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3. Why did Teck Beng wake up several times that night?

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4. What does the phrase “our dear friend” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

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5. What did Bala do to show his selfish nature?

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Oral Discussion

1. Why do you think it is important for all male citizens to go through National

Service?

2. Will you defend Singapore if it is attacked by another country?

3. Can you think of examples of selfless acts?

Answer Key

1. He is eighteen years old.2. Teck Beng’s captain threw the first ‘grenade’.3. He woke up because he had nightmares.

(He had a terrible shock that day and that probably gave him nightmares that woke him up many times in the night.)

4. It refers to Teck Beng’s captain.5. He threw himself on top of the ‘grenade’ to shield / protect / save his camp

mates.