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Multiple-choice questions assess author’s point of view and structural understanding.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/","Exam",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-history-of-pumpkins-reading-comprehension-questions-487044/487044/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-history-of-pumpkins-reading-comprehension-questions-487044/487044.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"dawugda","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-05","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",11,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why is a pumpkin technically considered a fruit, according to the passage?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Because it grows from a flower and holds seeds inside, like other fruits such as tomatoes.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How did wild pumpkins change into the plump ones grown today?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"People saved seeds from sweeter, meatier pumpkins over many generations, gradually reshaping the crop.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How does the Three Sisters system help the crops, according to the passage?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Corn provides a pole for beans, beans return nutrients to the soil, and wide pumpkin leaves shade the ground to trap moisture and block weeds.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},487044,1791177193,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,95,100,105,110,115,120,123,127],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":124,"slug":126},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":128,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":130},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":132},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":133,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":33,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":111,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":118,"preview_page_count":4},3985747870947,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","You probably think of the pumpkin as a Halloween decoration, something you carve in October and toss in November. But long before it ever sat on a porch, this bumpy orange fruit was one of the most important foods in the Americas. Yes, fruit! Because it grows from a flower and holds seeds, a pumpkin is technically a fruit, just like a tomato. With its thick rind, hollow middle, and stringy pulp wrapped around flat seeds, it looks a little like a treasure chest of the harvest. Some varieties are the size of a softball, while giant ones can outweigh a grand piano.  \nThat treasure chest has been feeding people far longer than any porch has  \nexisted. Pumpkins are a kind of squash native to the Americas, and scientists have traced their wild ancestors to Mexico thousands of years ago. Farmers there are believed to have grown early forms of them for around 5,000 to 7,000 years, making pumpkins one of the oldest crops on the continent. At first the wild versions were small and bitter, but over many generations people saved seeds from the sweeter, meatier ones. Little by little, human choices reshaped a tough gourd into the plump pumpkin you know today.  \nThose careful growers did far more than shrink the bitterness out of a gourd. Many Native American peoples planted pumpkins alongside corn and beans in a clever system called the Three Sisters. The corn gave the beans a pole to climb, the beans returned nutrients to the soil, and the wide pumpkin leaves shaded the ground to trap moisture and block weeds. Nothing went to waste: people roasted the flesh, dried long strips of it for winter, and even ate the seeds. Some groups wove the dried strips into mats, proving this fruit was farmed for far more than dinner.  \nWhen European settlers arrived, they had never seen anything like these leafy vines sprawling across the fields. At first many colonists were unsure what to make of the strange orange globes, but hunger is a patient teacher. They learned from Native Americans how to grow and cook them, sometimes hollowing a pumpkin, filling it with milk and spices, and baking it in the coals until soft. That early experiment was a distant cousin of pumpkin pie, which slowly became a fixture at autumn tables. Over time the pumpkin traveled back across the ocean, and today it is grown on nearly every continent except Antarctica.  \nFrom a Mexican field to a Thanksgiving dessert, the pumpkin has come a remarkably  \nlong way. It still matters because it links a modern autumn tradition to farmers who lived thousands of years before us, planting the very same seeds we scoop out today. According to a National Retail Federation survey, jack-o'-lanterns remain one of the most popular Halloween decorations Americans buy each year. Growers now compete to raise record giants, and the heaviest pumpkins on record have topped 2,700 pounds, heavier than a small car. Not bad for a wild, bitter gourd that people once had to be talked into eating.  \nThe History of Pumpkins  \nName:  \n\n| Solve each problem.\u003Cbr>Use the article to answer the question.\u003Cbr>1) According to the passage, why is a pumpkin technically considered a fruit?\u003Cbr>A. It grows from a flower and holds seeds inside.\u003Cbr>B. It has a sweet taste and a soft, juicy center.\u003Cbr>C. It ripens in the fall like apples and pears.\u003Cbr>D. It grows on a leafy vine close to the ground. |  |  |  |  | Answers\u003Cbr>1.  \u003Cbr>2.  \u003Cbr>3.   |  |  |  |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| 2) How did wild pumpkins change into the plump ones grown today?\u003Cbr>A. The climate in Mexico slowly warmed and grew them larger.\u003Cbr>B. Farmers crossed pumpkins with tomatoes to make them bigger.\u003Cbr>C. People saved seeds from the sweeter, meatier ones over many generations.\u003Cbr>D. Settlers shipped larger seeds back from Europe to America. |  |  |  |  | 4.  \u003Cbr>5.  \u003Cbr>6.  \u003Cbr>7.   |  |  |  |  |  |\n| 3) How did the Three Sisters planting system help each crop, according to the passage?\u003Cbr>A. Corn shaded th","cbCaik6gABIMANDZ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaik6gABIMANDZ","pdf",104830,"English","# The History of Pumpkins\n## Reading comprehension questions","[{\"question\":\"Why is a pumpkin technically considered a fruit, according to the passage?\",\"answer\":\"Because it grows from a flower and holds seeds inside, like other fruits such as tomatoes.\"},{\"question\":\"How did wild pumpkins change into the plump ones grown today?\",\"answer\":\"People saved seeds from sweeter, meatier pumpkins over many generations, gradually reshaping the crop.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the Three Sisters system help the crops, according to the passage?\",\"answer\":\"Corn provides a pole for beans, beans return nutrients to the soil, and wide pumpkin leaves shade the ground to trap moisture and block weeds.\"}]","The History of Pumpkins - Reading Comprehension Questions | PDF",1790807704]