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Year 4 comprehension: How a seed travels

Read this non-fiction passage, then answer six questions about details, word meanings, inferences and purpose.

Before you read

Read once for the main idea, then look back for details. You can use the passage while answering.

How a seed travels

A seed needs a suitable place to grow. If every seed landed directly beneath its parent plant, many young plants would compete for space and light. Seeds can reach new places in several ways.

Some seeds travel in the wind. A dandelion seed has a light, feathery structure that can help it float through the air. It does not choose where it lands. A breeze may carry it to soil, but it may also leave it on a pavement where it cannot grow.

Other seeds travel with animals. A hooked burr can catch on fur and be carried away. Later, it may fall off in another place. Some fruits contain seeds that animals eat along with the fruit. Those seeds may be left elsewhere after passing through the animal.

Travelling is only the first part of the process. A seed still needs the right conditions to begin growing. Reaching a new place does not guarantee that it will become a plant. The journey gives it a chance.

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Practise reading

Check your understanding

6 questions. Keep the passage open above and look back for evidence. This practice score stays on this page until you leave or restart. It is not an exam grade or a saved assessment.

Read all questions and answers

  1. 1. What helps a dandelion seed float?

    • A. A heavy shell
    • B. A hooked burr
    • C. A light, feathery structure
    • D. A fruit skin
    Show answer 1

    A light, feathery structure: The second paragraph describes the dandelion seed’s feathery structure.

  2. 2. How can a burr travel with an animal?

    • A. It changes into fruit
    • B. It asks the animal to carry it
    • C. It grows inside the animal’s feet
    • D. It catches on the animal’s fur
    Show answer 2

    It catches on the animal’s fur: The hooks can catch on fur so the burr is carried away.

  3. 3. What does “compete” mean here?

    • A. Grow without any light
    • B. Become exactly the same size
    • C. Move in the same breeze
    • D. Try to use the same limited resources
    Show answer 3

    Try to use the same limited resources: Plants close together may need the same space and light.

  4. 4. Why is a pavement a poor landing place in this example?

    • A. The seed becomes too heavy to move
    • B. The seed chooses to stay there
    • C. All animals avoid pavements
    • D. The seed does not reach suitable soil there
    Show answer 4

    The seed does not reach suitable soil there: The passage contrasts reaching soil with landing on a pavement where the seed cannot grow.

  5. 5. Why does the writer say the journey gives a seed “a chance”?

    • A. It will certainly grow wherever it lands
    • B. It can choose the weather
    • C. It no longer needs light
    • D. It may reach a suitable place, but growth is not certain
    Show answer 5

    It may reach a suitable place, but growth is not certain: The final paragraph says new places do not guarantee growth; the conditions still matter.

  6. 6. How is the passage organised?

    • A. A comparison of animal sizes
    • B. A reason for travel, examples of travel, then a limit
    • C. A list of instructions for cooking seeds
    • D. A story told by one seed
    Show answer 6

    A reason for travel, examples of travel, then a limit: It explains why dispersal helps, gives wind and animal examples, then explains that travel alone is not enough.

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An original passage written for Trace Learn. Authored 2026-09-30. These are teaching questions, not a school entrance paper.

Questions parents ask

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Should I look back at the passage?

Yes. Find the words that support your answer. For an inference, explain how the details suggest your idea.

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