Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Read the short story. Then answer each question.

The Story of Regulus

On the other side of the se a from Rome,
there was once a gre at ci ty nam ed
Car thage. The Rom an peopl e were never
very friendl y to the peo pl e of Carth ag e,
and at l ast a war began be tween the m . For
a l ong tim e, it was h ard to tel l which woul d
prove the stronger. F irst the Rom ans woul d
win a battl e, and then the m en of Carthage
woul d win a battl e; and so the w ar we nt o n
for m any years.

Am ong the Rom ans there was a br ave general

nam ed Regul us,—a m an of whom it was said
that he never broke his word. It so happened
after a whil e, th at Regul us was taken prisoner
and carried to Car th age. Il l and very l onel y, he
dream ed of his wife and l ittl e chil dren so far
away beyond the se a; he h ad but l ittl e hope of
ever seeing them again. He l oved his hom e
dearl y, but he bel ieved that his first du ty was to
his country ; and so he had l eft al l to fight in this
cruel war.

He had l ost a bat tl e, it is true, and had been take n prisoner. Y et he knew
that the Rom ans were gaining ground, and the peopl e of Car thage were
afraid of bei ng beaten in the end. The y had gone into o ther countr ies to
hire sol diers to hel p them , but, even wi th these sol dier s, they woul d not be
abl e to fight m uch l onger against Rom e.

One day , som e of the rul ers of Carthage cam e to the prison to tal k with
Regul us.

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Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

“We w oul d l ike to m ake peace with th e Rom an peopl e, ” they said, “ and
we are sure that i f your rul ers at hom e knew how the war is go ing, they
woul d be gl ad to m ake peace with us. We wil l set you free and l et you go
hom e, if you wil l agree to do as we say.”

“Wh at is th at?” as ked Regul us.

“In the firs t pl ace,” the y said, “you m ust tel l the Rom ans
abou t the battl es which you have l ost, and you m ust
m ake it pl ain to them that they have n ot gained
anythi ng by the w ar. In the second pl ace, you
m ust prom ise us that i f they wil l not m ake peace,
you wil l com e back to your prison.”

“V ery wel l ,” said Regul us. “I prom ise you that i f

they wil l not m ake peace, I wil l com e back to
prison.”

And so they l et him go because they knew that a gre at

Rom an woul d keep his word.

When he cam e to Rom e, al l the peopl e greeted him

gl adl y. His wife and chil dren were very happy
because they though t th at they woul d not be parted
again. The whi te - haired F athers wh o m ade the l aws
for the ci ty cam e to see him . They asked him about
the war.

“I was sent from Carthage to as k you to m ake peace,” he s aid . “However ,

it wil l not be wise to m ake peace. True , we have been be aten in a few
battl es, but our arm y is gaining ground every day. The peo pl e of
Car thage are afr aid, and they shoul d be. Keep on wi th the war a l ittl e
whil e l onger, and Car thage sh al l be yo urs. As for m e, I have com e to bid
m y wife and chil dren and Rom e farewel l . Tom orrow I wil l start back to
Car thage and to priso n as I have prom ised.”

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Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Then the Fathers tr ied to persu ade him to stay. “Let us send ano ther m an
in your pl ace,” they said.

“Shal l a Rom an not keep his word?” as ked Regul us. “I am il l , and at the
best, have no t l ong to l ive. I wil l go back as I prom ised.”

His wi fe and l ittl e chil dren wept, and hi s sons begged him not to l eave
them again.

“I have given m y word,” said Regul us. “ The rest w il l be taken care o f.”

Then he b ade them goodbye and went bravel y back to the pr ison and
the cruel death which he expec ted.

This w as the k ind of courage that m ade Rom e the greatest ci ty in the
worl d.

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Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Questions:

1. How does Regul us feel about the war?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. Why do you thin k Regul us tel l s the Rom ans to attack even though i t
m eans he m ust return to jail ?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. Wh at you thin k Regul us m eans when he tel l s his fam il y at the end
“ The rest w il l be taken care o f”?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. Why did Car thage go to o ther countr i es to hire sol diers?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

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Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Answers:

1. How does Regul us feel about the war?

Regul us feel s the war can be won.

2. Why do you thin k Regul us tel l s the Rom ans to attack even though i t
m eans he m ust return to jail ?

Regul us bel ieves the Rom ans can defeat the peo pl e of Carthage.

3. Wh at you thin k Regul us m eans when he tel l s his fam il y at the end
“ The rest w il l be taken care o f”?

It m eans that the w ar wil l be won by the Rom ans.

4. Why did Car thage go to o ther countr i es to hire sol diers?

Car thage wen t to other coun tries to hi re sol diers, because they did
not have enough m en to fight the Rom ans.

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