What is the main idea of the fable?

Different forms of strength meet different dangers, so judging one design without considering the challenge is foolish. (The drought favors depth, the storm favors flexibility, and both plants revise their one-sided judgment at the end.)

Why does neither plant fully win the argument?

Each plant is tested by a different danger that reveals both strength and weakness. (The paired trials divide the evidence: the banyan handles drought better, while the bamboo handles strong wind better.)

In the final advice, what does “what is coming” refer to?

the particular kind of challenge that must be faced (The plants have learned that the best form of strength depends on whether the threat is drought, wind, or something else.)

What keeps the banyan standing after its great limb breaks?

its rooted pillars (The final paragraph says that the rooted pillars keep the banyan standing despite the broken limb.)

The Banyan and the Bamboo: Level 4 Reading Comprehension Questions

A banyan spread its branches over half the village square. Its roots descended from the limbs and thickened into pillars. Beside it grew a stand of bamboo, narrow and restless in every breeze.

“Strength means holding your place,” the banyan told the bamboo. “One hard wind, and you will bow to the ground.”

The bamboo answered, “Strength means returning after you bend.” Neither persuaded the other. Then a slow season without rain settled over the village. The banyan reached deep water through its many roots and kept a pool of shade beneath its crown. The bamboo’s shallow ground dried. Its leaves curled, and several stems failed.

Months later, rain returned with a violent storm. Water loosened the soil, and wind pulled at the banyan’s wide crown. One great limb broke, though the rooted pillars kept the tree standing. The bamboo bent nearly flat. When the storm passed, most stems rose again, but they rose into a square still shaded by the banyan. Each had survived a danger suited to its own design. The banyan stopped calling bending weakness. The bamboo stopped calling depth stubbornness. After that, when young trees asked which kind of strength was best, both answered, “Ask first what is coming.”

Comprehension questions