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Nile
Most people consider the Nile to be the world’s longest river. However, there is some disagreement as some people believe the Amazon is longer. The Nile is about 4,132 miles long. It is located in the north-eastern part of Africa. The Nile has a number of sources and tributaries. Tributaries are the smaller rivers that feed a large river. The Nile flows through many countries, including Egypt and Sudan. The river flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The area where it meets the sea is called the Nile Delta. It is a very fertile place, because the river carries rich soils from the mountains. Fertile land is land that you can grow crops on.
The Nile river gave rise to the Ancient Egyptian culture. If you visit Egypt today, you will see great buildings like the Pyramids of Giza. All of this was possible because of the great Nile. People still write songs and poems about this river to this day!
Amazon
There is disagreement about which river is the biggest in the world. But it’s definitely either the Nile or the Amazon. The Amazon is a huge river in South America. It flows through the world’s largest rainforest, with which it shares a name. The Amazon river is home to some amazing fauna. The Amazon river dolphin has a long snout and a pink-gray skin. Then there’s the terrifying anaconda, a huge snake that lives in shallow water. You’ve probably heard about piranhas, too. These fish are omnivores, which means that they will eat meat if they get a chance!
Yangtze
This is the longest river in Asia, and the third longest on earth. It is about 3,915 miles long. One interesting fact about this river is that it is the longest river to flow in one country from beginning to end: the whole river is in China. In Chinese literature, this river has had some interesting names, such as “long river”, “gold sands river” and “river passing through heaven”.
At the place where the Yangtze flows into the Pacific Ocean, you will find the city of Shanghai. This is a huge, bustling, high-tech city that is famous for trade.
Rubicon
This is a tiny river in the north of Italy. It’s hardly a river at all. If you saw it, you would probably call it a stream. It’s also very polluted, so it’s not much to look at. You might be wondering why it’s in this list. The reason is that this river is connected to one of the most famous people in world history.
In 49 BC, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river with his army. This started a great war, which he won. To this day, if someone does something that will have serious consequences, we say that he “crossed the Rubicon.” In other words, he has made his decision, and there is no going back!
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Questions:
- Name two countries that the Nile flows through.
- What is the name of the place where the Nile meets the sea?
- What famous buildings will you see if you visit the Nile?
- Give a word in the passage that means “land that you can grow crops on”.
- Describe the appearance of the Amazon river dolphin.
- Does the anaconda like deep or shallow water?
- Find a word that means “types of animals”.
- Find a word that means “an animal that can eat plants and meat”.
- How long is the Yangtze river, approximately?
- Which country contains this river?
- Give one of the other names this river has had.
- Which ocean does the Yangtze flow into?
- Which word tells us that Shanghai is full of activity?
- Find a word that means “the activity or process of buying, selling, or exchanging goods or services”.
- Which famous person crossed the Rubicon river?
- Where is this river?
- Give a word from the paragraph that tells us that the Rubicon river is not clean.
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Answers:
- Egypt, Sudan.
- Nile Delta.
- Pyramids of Giza.
- Fertile land.
- It has a long snout and it is pink-gray in color.
- It likes shallow water.
- Fauna
- Omnivore
- 3,915 miles.
- China
- One of the following: long river; gold sands river; river passing through heaven.
- The Pacific Ocean.
- Bustling
- Trade
- Julius Caesar
- In the north of Italy.
- Polluted
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Printables:
Comprehension worksheet – passage only
Comprehension test – questions and answers only
Comprehension test with questions and answers per paragraph
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