Name:_________________________		Date:_______________

Comprehension (5.2)

Read the passage and answer the questions.

Safe From Bombs

It was past midnight and the air raid sirens began to wail all over the city. This warning meant that there was going to be an air raid from the enemies. A little boy was woken by the siren. He ran quickly downstairs to his parents. Together they ran out into the garden towards a door half-buried in the earth. They hurried in and closed the door behind them and soon they could hear the drone of aeroplanes overhead as they hid in the air raid shelter. They could feel the earth shake as bombs began to fall. In the shelter, the little boy was tucked into bed by his mother. Next to his bed was a little night-light, just in case he was afraid. He didn't like being in the shelter, even though it was a safe place to be. It was both hot and stuffy with water leaking from the walls and ceiling. Sometimes he had to stay there for hours. Many families built shelters in their gardens. Those who didn't had to run to public shelters. Many spent the night in underground railway stations just to be safe from the bombs. During the Second War World, which began in 1939, there were thousands of air raids. Towns all over Europe were destroyed by bombs and hundreds of thousand of innocent men, women and children were killed. This was the first time that war had put everyone in danger because in the past, it was mainly the soldiers on the battlefield who were likely to be killed.

1.	How did the boy know there was going to be an air raid? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
2.	How would you describe the condition of his air raid shelter. ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
3.	How did the Second World War affect Europe? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
4.	What did those without their own air raid shelter do for protection? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
5.	Which words describe to you that the shelter was hidden. ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

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