Grade 9 Reading Comprehension Exercises

This reading comprehension exercise will give excellent practice to Grade 9 students in understanding long passages and answering questions.

Trouble At Sea

1. It was the third day of our stay at the island. It was time to head home. Dad started to call me and the boys to pack up. His voice boomed, honed from 35 years of experience shouting at cadets on the drill grounds. Our boat was just able to cruise along without the need for the engine since there was a strong breeze. Daryl and Johnny squealed with delight when they spotted two huge floating turtles craning their curious heads towards us. Then I noticed a Coast Guard patrolling the waters about two hundred metres away.

2. We still had another three quarters of an hour to go before reaching the mainland, when I noticed an ominous dark band on the horizon. “Dad, look at that,” I called out. “Seems quite bad.” “You are right,” he replied. “Get the sails down Estee. I will start the engine running. We’d better reach the shore as quickly as we can.”

3. I was looking at the gathering waves. They reminded me of the times I had waited for my water or soup to boil. Only this time, we would really be in a hot soup. Just when I was lowering the second sail, a huge gust whipped our sand-crusted canopy over the side, taking our yelping Cheetah with it. He disappeared into the foaming waves. I screamed with fright. But in a few seconds, a wet black head came bobbing up about twenty metres from our boat. If not for his ears, Cheetah would have looked almost like a woebegone sealion. By this time, Daryl and Johnny had heard the commotion and were up on deck, but I pushed them back into the cabin for safety. Dad and I cried out to Cheetah, “Wait Cheetah, keep paddling there. Hang on there. We are coming.”

4. The Liberty had begun rocking wildly. The world around looked blurred to us. We could not steer it towards poor Cheetah. My heart kept palpitating as he took turns at disappearing and reappearing amid the angry waves. Fighting against the wind, I could get the billowing sail only halfway down. Then Dad took over while I went to the helm. I yelled at Daryl to call the Coast Guard. He was just eight years old. Now, looking back, I really appreciate how mature he behaved at that tumultuous time, considering that he was so young.

5. I feared that I would be thrown overboard any minute. Then I noticed a Coast Guard boat with two men signaling to me. The monstrous waves were preventing them from coming any closer. I prayed desperately that the waves would ease off. Then, miraculously, we heard a “Woof! Woof!”. The Coast Guard had got our dog. We were overjoyed to see him again. Within 30 minutes, the Coast Guard boat could approach us, bringing Cheetah. Then we slowly made our way to the shore, Dad guiding our boat safely in the waves that had now become unbelievably calmer.

From paragraph 1

1. Write down the phrase that tells you that the writer’s father could have been in the army.

2. Write down a single word that suggests that the boat was moving smoothly at a moderate speed.

From paragraph 2

3. Write down a single word that means ‘threatening’.

From paragraph 3

4. By this time, Daryl and Johnny had heard the commotion and were up on deck, but I pushed them back into the cabin for safety.
What was the commotion about?

From paragraph 4

5. Why was the writer unable to steer the boat towards Cheetah?

6. Write down one word that means ‘troubled’.

7. Why does the writer appreciate Daryl, looking back at the time of the incident?

From paragraph 5

8. Then we slowly made our way to the shore, Dad guiding our boat safely in the waves that had now become unbelievably calmer.
Which word earlier in the paragraph means the same as ‘unbelievably’?

Answer Scheme

• ‘honed from 35 years of experience shouting at cadets on the drill grounds.’
• The word is ‘cruise’.
• The word is ‘ominous’.
• The family’s pet dog had fallen into the sea.
• The Liberty had begun rocking wildly and world around looked blurred to them.
• The word is ‘tumultuous’.
• Daryl was only eight years old at the time of the incident. But he had behaved in a mature way and had done what was required of him, which was to call the Coast Guard.
• The word is ‘miraculously’.