Reading Comprehension exercises

Young Festival attendee, 1984
California Strawberry Festival A Local Legacy
Have you ever tried a strawberry pizza? If you went to Oxnard, the "Strawberry Capital of California," in May, you could!
Oxnard is in Southern California and this part of the state takes its strawberries very seriously. At the two-day California Strawberry Festival you can sample strawberries prepared in all sorts of ways. In addition to traditional treats such as strawberry shortcake, strawberry jam, strawberry tarts and strawberries dipped in chocolate, there is strawberry pizza! This dessert pizza is topped with strawberries, sour cream, cream cheese and whipped cream on a sweet bread baked like a pizza. Strawberry kabobs dipped in powdered sugar are another delicacy. And drinks such as a strawberry smoothie can wash it all down.
Strawberries are big business in Oxnard. The annual strawberry revenues are $100 million from Oxnard's bountiful 6,600 berry acres. Twenty-four companies harvest and cool nearly 16 million trays of berries, which are shipped throughout North America as well as to Germany and Japan. The festival, which attracts more than 85,000 visitors, features three stages with musical entertainment, 335 arts and crafts exhibits, strolling musicians, clowns, artists, face-painting, contests, and a "Strawberryland" for children with puppets, magicians, musicians, and a petting zoo.


Post-Reading Questions
1. Which food is not mentioned in the article?
a. Strawberry shortcake b. Strawberry jamc. Strawberry candy d. Strawberry pizza
2. What are the annual revenues from strawberries?
a. $100 million b. $85,000 million c. $335 million d. $16 million
3. Who is the target audience of Strawberryland?"
a. adolescents b. children c. young adults d. the elderly

Reading 2

The 4th of July in Colorado
A Local Legacy Many American cities have rodeos but Greeley, Colorado, has the "Worlds' Largest Fourth of July Rodeo." The city was named after Horace Greeley, a well-known newspaperman for the New York Tribune. One of his famous sayings was "Go west, Young Man, go west." In 1869, he sent one of his reporters west to Colorado to write a story about farming. The reporter, Nathan C. Meeker, liked the area so much he stayed and started a town named after his boss. It was Meeker's vision that helped establish a successful community based on, among other qualities, cooperation, agriculture, irrigation, and education.
Every year the people of Greeley celebrate Independence Day with a rodeo. In the early days, the rodeo was a small local event, but it grew more and more popular. In 1922, more than 10,000 people came to the rodeo, and the town officially named the event the "Greeley Fourth of July Celebration and the Spud Rodeo and Horseshow." They called it the spud rodeo because spuds (another name for potatoes) are an important crop grown around Greeley. A few years later, even more people came to the rodeo, when famous cowboys started competing with the local ranch hands. Today, the rodeo lasts for two weeks and is called the Greeley Independence Stampede.


Post-Reading Questions
1. Who was Horace Greeley?
a. a newspaperman b. a Western reporter c. a local farmer d. founder of a town
2. Which is a major crop in the Greeley area?
a. corn b. potatoes c. agriculture d. strawberries

True or False ?
3. Greeley, Colorado was named after its founder.
4. In 1922, the Greeley rodeo was an event for only local residents.

Reading 3


Tornadoes in Kansas
Kansas is known for many things -- wheat, sunflowers ... and tornadoes! What famous story set in Kansas features a tornado?
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, tells the story of Dorothy, who gets caught in a Kansas tornado and lands in the imaginary land of Oz. This story has been dramatized on stage and film. You might have seen the movie version, which stars Judy Garland as Dorothy.
Tornadoes are storms with rapidly rotating winds that form a funnel cloud. Also known as "twisters," they extend downward from the huge clouds of a severe thunderstorm. The winds that rotate within a tornado usually reach a speed of almost 300 miles per hour! A tornado often sweeps through an area quickly, but it can cause considerable destruction. There have been a number of remarkable reports of tornadoes. In one instance, a schoolhouse was demolished while the 85 students originally inside it were carried more than 400 feet with none killed. There was also a case of five railway coaches, each weighing 70 tons, lifted from their tracks.

Post-Reading Questions
1. What is Kansas known for?
a. wheat b. potatoes c. sunflowers d. a and c
2. How fast do the winds rotate within a tornado? a. 85 miles per hour b. 400 miles per hour c. 300 miles per hour d. 70 miles per hour
3. Tornadoes are also known as a. thunderstorms b. typhoons c. tempests d. twisters
4. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Eighty-students died when a tornado struck their schoolhouse.
B. A tornado lifted five heavy railroad coaches from their tracks