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Grammar schools / Sutton SET English (multiple choice) / Mock 5

Sutton Selective Eligibility Test · Stage 1

Sutton SET English Mock Paper 5

Preparation for the Sutton Selective Eligibility Test, sat for admission to Wilson's School, Sutton Grammar School, Wallington County Grammar School, Nonsuch High School for Girls and Wallington High School for Girls. This is an original mock paper written by Revision Library. It is not a past paper and it is not an official specimen.

Print the paper (PDF)Paper and mark scheme (PDF)

Time allowed
50 minutes
Total marks
62
Questions
62
Level
Strong candidate
  • You have 50 minutes for this paper. There are 62 questions and every question is worth 1 mark.
  • The paper has four sections. The recommended times are 5 minutes for Section A, 25 minutes for Section B, 10 minutes for Section C and 10 minutes for Section D. These times are advice, not rules. You may spend longer on a section if you need to, and you may go back to earlier questions at any point.
  • Every question gives you five options, A to E. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet in pencil. If you change your mind, rub the old mark out completely so that only one mark is left.
  • Most questions have one answer. Some ask you to choose exactly two options, and some ask you to choose all the options that apply. Those questions say so, so read each one carefully.
  • There is no negative marking, so a wrong answer costs you nothing. It is worth answering every question.

Section A: Spelling (about 5 minutes)

In each question, one of the five spellings is correct and the other four are not.

Choose the correct spelling and mark one answer for each question.

  1. 11 mark

    Choose the correct spelling.

    The hotel can ____ two hundred guests.

    1. Aaccomodate
    2. Baccommodate
    3. Cacommodate
    4. Daccomadate
    5. Eaccommodatte
  2. 21 mark

    Choose the correct spelling.

    Her ____ note-taking meant she had missed nothing at all.

    1. Aconsciencious
    2. Bconscientous
    3. Cconcientious
    4. Dconscientious
    5. Econscentious
  3. 31 mark

    Choose the correct spelling.

    The two paths run ____ to each other all the way to the old bridge.

    1. Aparrallel
    2. Bparalell
    3. Cparallel
    4. Dparalel
    5. Eparallell
  4. 41 mark

    Choose the correct spelling.

    Check the ____ of each unfamiliar name before reading aloud.

    1. Apronunciation
    2. Bpronuncation
    3. Cpronounciation
    4. Dprononciation
    5. Epronouncation
  5. 51 mark

    Choose the correct spelling.

    The ____ meets on the first Monday of every month.

    1. Acomittee
    2. Bcommitee
    3. Ccommittee
    4. Dcommitte
    5. Ecomitee
  6. 61 mark

    Choose the correct spelling.

    Cloudy water may be a sign of a problem in the pond's ____.

    1. Aenviroment
    2. Benvironment
    3. Cenvironement
    4. Denviornment
    5. Eenvirronment
  7. 71 mark

    Choose the correct spelling.

    A flash of ____ lit the whole valley.

    1. Alightening
    2. Blightning
    3. Clitening
    4. Dlightnning
    5. Elightneng
  8. 81 mark

    Choose the correct spelling.

    The guide gave us a ____ description of every carving.

    1. Athorough
    2. Bthorrough
    3. Cthurough
    4. Dthourough
    5. Ethorugh
  9. 91 mark

    Choose the correct spelling.

    Mina tried to ____ her brother to take the quieter route.

    1. Aperswade
    2. Bpersuede
    3. Cpersuade
    4. Dpursuade
    5. Eperssuade
  10. 101 mark

    Choose the correct spelling.

    The climbers had ____ food to wait safely for daylight.

    1. Asufficent
    2. Bsuficient
    3. Csufficiant
    4. Dsufficient
    5. Esufficcient

Section B: Text 1 (about 25 minutes)

Read Text 1 carefully, then answer questions 11 to 38.

Most questions have one answer. Where a question asks for exactly two answers, or for all the answers that apply, it says so.

Kennel Twenty-Seven

When I was eleven, I believed wanting something fiercely was the same as understanding it. Because I decided everyone else had given up on Fable, I made him my private campaign during the summer I helped at Greycroft Greyhound Rescue. I was the youngest volunteer and the only boy on Tuesday's rota, but considered both facts qualifications. Years later, a newspaper cutting showed me how confidently I had mistaken myself for the hero.

Greycroft occupied a former builder's yard behind the ring road. By nine, the corrugated roofs ticked with heat, and the kennel passage smelt of warm straw, disinfectant and the liver treats in Val's apron. I rinsed bowls, pegged blankets on the wire fence and walked quieter dogs round the nettle field. Fable lived in kennel twenty-seven. He was a fawn greyhound with a white comma on his chest and a blue card stamped RETURNED TWICE.

He had not bitten anyone or ruined a carpet. He froze in doorways and, when visitors arrived, became as uninteresting as a rolled umbrella. Val said people wanted a dog to 'show them something'. I heard a problem in advertising. I rewrote his card in green felt-tip, brushed him and practised a brisk entrance from the yard. 'Stop auditioning him, Jonah,' Val said. I thought she meant my timing needed work.

In June, a family in matching cycling tops came. I gave my speech about greyhounds being surprisingly lazy, then trotted Fable past twice with a liver treat. When their little boy clapped, Fable folded himself beneath the blanket shelf, nose to the wall. I blamed the metal roof for making the clap echo. Val crouched but did not reach under. 'He has already performed,' she said. 'You just disliked the answer.'

I refused to be discouraged. One week I tied a red spotted scarf round his neck for photographs. Next I taught him to touch my palm with his nose, although he did it only in an empty yard. On a clipboard I circled people's reasons for choosing another dog: too timid, no sparkle, already returned. By July I spoke of Fable's progress as though I had manufactured it.

Mrs Iqbal arrived on the hottest Thursday. She worked nights in a hospital laboratory and lived in a first-floor flat with a shared courtyard, details I placed in my hopeless column. While Val fetched the adoption form, Mrs Iqbal sat sideways on an upturned feed tub, reading a sack of biscuits. She did not call Fable. He came out, sniffed her canvas shoe and lowered his chin on it. I called this coincidence and squeaked a rubber ball. He vanished. 'Why did you do that?' Val asked. 'So she'd see what he can do.' Mrs Iqbal looked at the doorway. 'I had,' she said.

She returned four times, bringing no treats. On the third visit, he stood close enough for her sleeve to rest against his shoulder. On the fourth, he slept with one paw across her shoe. I kept mentioning the stairs and missing private garden. Val took my clipboard away. 'A garden is not a character reference,' she said.

On adoption day I led Fable towards Mrs Iqbal's car, talking too brightly. At the open door I tightened the lead; he leaned backwards until his collar made two ridges in his neck. Mrs Iqbal put his blanket on the back seat and sat in front without turning. For once, I obeyed Val and did nothing. After a minute Fable stepped into the car. 'He knows where I am,' Mrs Iqbal said, as if this, rather than the route home, were the necessary direction.

The local paper printed a photograph of me holding the green card. Beneath it, I had said, 'I never gave up on him.' I was proud of that sentence for years. As an adult, I heard its boast. Fable had not needed confidence, sparkle or my heroic story. He needed choices, and Mrs Iqbal offered them by leaving room. The most useful thing I did all summer was the last: I stopped pulling, stopped presenting, and let the dog I claimed to know walk past me.

This passage was written for Revision Library.

  1. 111 mark

    What three jobs does Jonah say were his at Greycroft?

    1. Arinsing bowls, pegging blankets and walking quieter dogs
    2. Bwashing kennels, folding blankets and feeding every dog
    3. Canswering enquiries, filling forms and walking new dogs
    4. Dbrushing Fable, cleaning cars and cutting nettles
    5. Erinsing bowls, repairing roofs and sorting medicines
  2. 121 mark

    Which marking appears on Fable's chest?

    1. Aa black circle
    2. Ba fawn stripe
    3. Ca white comma
    4. Da blue patch
    5. Ea red spot
  3. 131 mark

    How many times does Mrs Iqbal visit after her first meeting with Fable?

    1. Atwice
    2. Bthree times
    3. Cfour times
    4. Dfive times
    5. Eevery Thursday
  4. 141 mark

    Where does Mrs Iqbal work?

    1. Ain a veterinary surgery
    2. Bin a hospital laboratory
    3. Cat a newspaper office
    4. Dat the rescue kennels
    5. Ein a builder's yard
  5. 151 mark

    What does Mrs Iqbal put on the back seat of her car?

    1. AFable's blanket
    2. Ba sack of biscuits
    3. CJonah's clipboard
    4. Da rubber ball
    5. EFable's blue card
  6. 161 mark

    In the opening paragraph, the adult narrator says he had mistaken himself for 'the hero'.

    Which option best explains what he now understands?

    1. AHis youth made him a more striking subject for the newspaper photograph than the other volunteers.
    2. BHis determination helped Fable, but he had given himself too much credit for the outcome.
    3. CHis campaign kept attention on a dog whom earlier adopters had already returned.
    4. DHis work at Greycroft was useful, although he lacked experience with difficult dogs.
    5. EHis confidence sustained the campaign, but it also made Val doubt his judgement.
  7. 171 mark

    Where Jonah rewrites Fable's card and practises an entrance, Val says, 'Stop auditioning him.'

    Why is auditioning the most precise word?

    1. AJonah is rehearsing a display designed to win strangers' approval rather than letting them meet Fable naturally.
    2. BJonah is training Fable to perform a reliable sequence before visitors enter the yard.
    3. CJonah is advertising Fable more brightly because the old blue card has discouraged visitors.
    4. DJonah is testing whether Fable can overcome his fear of doorways through practice.
    5. EJonah is preparing to judge which family can manage Fable's unusual behaviour.
  8. 181 mark

    After Fable hides from the clapping child, Val says, 'He has already performed. You just disliked the answer.'

    Which option best explains her point?

    1. AFable completed Jonah's planned trot before the clap unsettled him.
    2. BFable's retreat communicated his discomfort clearly, although Jonah wanted a more appealing response.
    3. CFable obeyed only for food, so the family did not see his ordinary behaviour until the clap.
    4. DThe metal roof may have sharpened the clap, but Jonah uses that detail to avoid Fable's message.
    5. EFable gave the family useful information about whether his response would suit them.
  9. 191 mark

    Jonah circles people's reasons for choosing another dog and says he had begun speaking as though he had 'manufactured' Fable's progress.

    What does manufactured suggest here?

    1. AHe had carefully recorded changes that other volunteers might not have noticed.
    2. BHe treated Fable's improvement as a product of his own system rather than as the dog's uneven response to safety.
    3. CHe had created a public image of Fable that differed from the shy dog in the kennel.
    4. DHe believed repeated practice could turn Fable into the dog most families requested.
    5. EHe measured progress in enquiries because adoption was the campaign's practical aim.
  10. 201 mark

    At her first visit, Mrs Iqbal sits sideways and does not call Fable.

    Which option best explains why this helps?

    1. AIt gives her time to study the kennel before completing the adoption form.
    2. BIt leaves Jonah free to explain Fable while she appears occupied.
    3. CIt removes the demand for Fable to approach and allows him to investigate her at his own pace.
    4. DIt saves Fable from meeting a stranger's direct gaze at their first encounter.
    5. EIt leaves Fable undisturbed while Val is away fetching the form.
  11. 211 mark

    After Jonah squeaks the ball, Mrs Iqbal looks at the empty doorway and says, 'I had.'

    What does her brief reply most precisely mean?

    1. AShe had already seen Fable do something valuable by choosing to approach her quietly.
    2. BShe had now seen that Fable could be startled by a sudden high sound.
    3. CShe had already begun to understand why other adopters found Fable difficult to meet.
    4. DShe had already begun judging whether Fable's quiet behaviour suited her household.
    5. EShe had already seen enough behaviour for Jonah's extra demonstration to be unnecessary.
  12. 221 mark

    Val tells Jonah, 'A garden is not a character reference.'

    Which option best explains her criticism?

    1. AA large outdoor space cannot prove that an adopter will understand and respect a timid dog.
    2. BGreyhounds need less outdoor exercise than Jonah's energetic presentations suggest.
    3. CMrs Iqbal's shared courtyard may still provide the outdoor access an adopter needs.
    4. DJonah has given housing facts more weight than the patience Mrs Iqbal has shown.
    5. EThe rescue should judge homes by an adopter's conduct as well as by practical facilities.
  13. 231 mark

    On adoption day Mrs Iqbal says, 'He knows where I am.'

    Why does the narrator call this 'the necessary direction'?

    1. AFable needs to locate Mrs Iqbal in the unfamiliar car before he can settle.
    2. BMrs Iqbal's presence offers Fable security without forcing him, which matters more than Jonah's instructions about the journey.
    3. CMrs Iqbal knows the route to her flat, while Jonah has supplied directions only inside the kennels.
    4. DFable responds better to Mrs Iqbal's quiet availability than to pressure on his lead.
    5. EJonah finally realises that Mrs Iqbal should control the last stage of the adoption.
  14. 241 mark

    In the final paragraph, the adult narrator calls doing nothing 'the most useful thing' he did.

    Which option best explains this apparent contradiction?

    1. AHis earlier work kept Fable visible until a suitable adopter happened to visit.
    2. BHis final pause allowed Fable to act freely, correcting the pressure Jonah's energetic help had repeatedly created.
    3. CHe obeyed Val at the exact moment when she had more experience than he did.
    4. DHe stopped presenting Fable once the adoption arrangements had already been completed.
    5. EHis restraint showed Mrs Iqbal that he trusted her to take responsibility for Fable.
  15. 251 mark

    Fable becomes 'as uninteresting as a rolled umbrella' when visitors arrive.

    Select the TWO words that best match uninteresting in this comparison.

    Select TWO answers.

    1. Aunobtrusive
    2. Buseless
    3. Cordinary
    4. Dclosed
    5. Eunfriendly
  16. 261 mark

    Select the TWO words that most accurately describe the eleven-year-old Jonah's campaign.

    Select TWO answers.

    1. Apersistent
    2. Bperceptive
    3. Cpresumptuous
    4. Dneglectful
    5. Esecretive
  17. 271 mark

    Select the TWO words that best describe Mrs Iqbal's manner with Fable.

    Select TWO answers.

    1. Apatient
    2. Bdetached
    3. Crestrained
    4. Dhesitant
    5. Eplayful
  18. 281 mark

    The narrator says the newspaper sentence sounded 'less generous' when he read it as an adult.

    Select the TWO words that best describe how it sounded to him then.

    Select TWO answers.

    1. Aself-important
    2. Btriumphant
    3. Cpatient
    4. Dselfless
    5. Epossessive
  19. 291 mark

    Four details below accurately describe Greycroft. Which one is NOT correct?

    1. AIt is behind the ring road.
    2. BIt occupies an old builder's yard.
    3. CIts kennel roofs are made of corrugated material.
    4. DIts exercise area is called the nettle field.
    5. EIts blankets dry on a brick wall.
  20. 301 mark

    Which claim about Fable is NOT supported by Text 1?

    1. AHe had been returned to the rescue twice.
    2. BHe sometimes froze in doorways.
    3. CHe had destroyed a carpet in a previous home.
    4. DHe would touch Jonah's palm when the yard was empty.
    5. EHe entered Mrs Iqbal's car without being pulled in.
  21. 311 mark

    Jonah makes several assumptions about Mrs Iqbal. Which one does he NOT make?

    1. AHer flat counts against her as an adopter.
    2. BThe shared courtyard is a disadvantage.
    3. CFable's first approach to her is a coincidence.
    4. DShe needs to see Fable perform a trained action.
    5. EHer night work means she will leave Fable alone too often.
  22. 321 mark

    Which statement about Val's actions is NOT correct?

    1. AShe warns Jonah to stop auditioning Fable.
    2. BShe reaches beneath the shelf to bring Fable out.
    3. CShe asks Jonah why he squeaked the ball.
    4. DShe removes Jonah's clipboard.
    5. EShe advises Jonah to do nothing beside the car.
  23. 331 mark

    Which details show Jonah trying to make Fable more impressive to potential adopters?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. AHe rewrites the kennel card in green felt-tip.
    2. BHe practises a brisk entrance from the yard.
    3. CHe circles reasons people choose another dog.
    4. DHe ties a red spotted scarf round Fable's neck.
    5. EHe waits silently beside the open car.
  24. 341 mark

    During Mrs Iqbal's visits, which signs indicate that Fable is choosing greater closeness?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. AHe sniffs the seam of her shoe.
    2. BHe lowers his chin on her shoe.
    3. CHe allows her sleeve to rest against his shoulder.
    4. DHe takes a liver treat from her hand.
    5. EHe sleeps with a paw across her shoe.
  25. 351 mark

    The adult narrator openly corrects his younger self. Which statements express those later corrections?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. AWanting fiercely was not the same as understanding.
    2. BBeing the youngest volunteer was a special qualification.
    3. CHis newspaper quotation gave him too much credit.
    4. DFable needed room to make choices.
    5. EThe private garden should have mattered more.
  26. 361 mark

    Which moments show Fable responding badly to pressure or sudden stimulation?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. AHe follows Jonah when a liver treat is held out.
    2. BHe hides after the child claps.
    3. CHe retreats when Jonah squeaks the ball.
    4. DHe leans backwards when Jonah tightens the lead.
    5. EHe sleeps with a paw on Mrs Iqbal's shoe.
  27. 371 mark

    Which sensory details make the kennels feel hot and strongly scented?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. AThe roofs tick with heat.
    2. BThe passage smells of warm straw.
    3. CDisinfectant can be smelt between the kennels.
    4. DThe metal roof makes a clap echo.
    5. ELiver treats scent Val's apron.
  28. 381 mark

    By the end, which of Jonah's usual actions has he deliberately stopped?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. Apulling Fable towards a destination
    2. Bpresenting Fable as a performance
    3. Cspeaking for what Fable needs
    4. Dhelping with routine kennel work
    5. Eremembering the summer afterwards

Section C: Text 2 (about 10 minutes)

Read Text 2 carefully, then answer questions 39 to 50.

Most questions have one answer. Where a question asks for exactly two answers, or for all the answers that apply, it says so.

Field Notes from Bramble Mead, 18 June 1874

At 8.17 in the evening I stationed myself beside the eastern hedge of Bramble Mead. The meadow measured approximately 310 yards from gate to brook. I had advanced 46 yards when an adult brown hare emerged from the grass, 39 yards from my position.

The specimen stood, by comparison with a tussock afterwards measured, some 25 inches at the crown. Its ears inclined separately, the left towards the village road and the right towards myself, an arrangement of unusual exactitude. At 8.23 it took seven bites of clover. I mention the number because careless observers substitute impression for evidence.

A smaller hare appeared at 8.31. The two approached within six feet, whereupon the first sprang vertically and the second passed beneath it. This manoeuvre was repeated three times. It would be injudicious to call the exercise play, that term belonging to the nursery rather than natural philosophy; nevertheless, no contest for food or ground was apparent.

At 8.36 the breeze altered and carried my scent across the meadow. Neither animal fled. The smaller washed its forepaws, while the larger sat with black-tipped ears above the grass and regarded the hedge. I was obliged to consider that my concealment, upon which I had privately congratulated myself, had not deceived them.

Both hares departed at 8.42, not in alarm but at an easy bound towards the brook, appearing and vanishing in the seed-heads. The observation occupied twenty-five minutes. I record, solely for completeness, that the empty meadow seemed a less exact place. This impression, having no measurable zoological value, need not detain us.

This passage was written for Revision Library.

  1. 391 mark

    In the paragraph describing seven bites of clover, the writer criticises observers who 'substitute impression for evidence'.

    Which option best explains why he includes this remark?

    1. AHe wants to justify recording a small count and display the superiority of his precise method.
    2. BHe wants later naturalists to have measurements against which they could compare another observation.
    3. CHe wants to show that even an ordinary feeding action can be recorded as evidence.
    4. DHe treats counting movement as a useful correction to description based only on appearance.
    5. EHe is guarding the journal against admiration that might distort what he records.
  2. 401 mark

    The hare's ears point in different directions, which the writer calls 'an arrangement of unusual exactitude'.

    What is the most precise effect of that phrase?

    1. AIt makes the two ear positions sound purposeful, although the hare's intention cannot be measured.
    2. BIt admires the animal's ability to attend to two possible sources of danger while retaining a scientific tone.
    3. CIt links the ear positions with two places from which sound or danger might come.
    4. DIt draws special attention to the ear turned towards the observer without proving it was the greater concern.
    5. EIt records a feature that helps describe this hare before the smaller one arrives.
  3. 411 mark

    The writer says it would be 'injudicious' to call the repeated leaps play.

    Why is he so cautious?

    1. AHe cannot decide whether the hares are competing, although no conflict is visible.
    2. BHe thinks the word play is too childish and emotional for the formal authority he wants his journal to possess.
    3. CHe has measured the action but lacks enough repetitions to classify it confidently.
    4. DHe wants to separate an observed manoeuvre from any claim about the animals' purpose.
    5. EHe believes natural philosophy should record feeding and territory rather than amusement.
  4. 421 mark

    When the breeze changes, the writer is 'obliged to consider' that his concealment had failed.

    Which option best explains the wording?

    1. AThe hares' calm behaviour forces him to revise a private belief that he had hidden especially well.
    2. BThe wind provides new evidence that his position beside the hedge was poorly chosen.
    3. CHe reluctantly accepts that the hares may have known about him before he noticed them.
    4. DHe is surprised the animals remain because he expected human scent to alarm them.
    5. EHe must reconsider whether their stillness proves they were unaware of danger.
  5. 431 mark

    In the final paragraph, the empty meadow seems 'a less exact place'.

    What does this best reveal?

    1. AWithout the hares, the writer has no moving subjects left to count or measure.
    2. BThe later light makes the meadow offer fewer details for a careful observer to record.
    3. CThe hares' departure affects him, but he disguises the sense of loss in the language of measurement.
    4. DHis completed notes are now more orderly than the empty landscape from which they were taken.
    5. EHis precise record has no measurable way to express the change he feels after the observation.
  6. 441 mark

    Four measurements are recorded in the journal. Which one is NOT correct?

    1. AThe meadow was about 310 yards from gate to brook.
    2. BThe first hare emerged 39 yards from the observer.
    3. CThe first hare stood about 25 inches at the crown.
    4. DThe two hares approached to within six yards.
    5. EThe observation lasted twenty-five minutes.
  7. 451 mark

    Which event does NOT occur between 8.31 and 8.42?

    1. AA smaller hare enters the meadow.
    2. BThe hares repeat a leaping manoeuvre.
    3. CThe breeze carries the observer's scent across the meadow.
    4. DThe larger hare eats seven bites of clover.
    5. EBoth hares move towards the brook.
  8. 461 mark

    Which description of the naturalist's conduct is NOT supported by his entry?

    1. AHe checks one height against a tussock afterwards.
    2. BHe notes the direction in which each ear points.
    3. CHe moves closer when the second hare appears.
    4. DHe records the time when both animals leave.
    5. EHe revises an opinion about his concealment.
  9. 471 mark

    Which recorded actions belong to the smaller hare?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. AIt appears at 8.31.
    2. BIt passes beneath the first hare.
    3. CIt washes its forepaws.
    4. DIt eats exactly seven bites of clover.
    5. EIt leaves in alarm.
  10. 481 mark

    Which features contribute to the field entry's formal, scientific manner?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. Aexact clock times
    2. Bdistances and dimensions
    3. Ccareful separation of observation from interpretation
    4. Ddirect conversation with another naturalist
    5. Equalification of claims with words such as approximately
  11. 491 mark

    The writer tries to keep feeling out of his record. Which phrases reveal that effort?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. A'that term belonging more properly to the nursery'
    2. B'upon which I had privately congratulated myself'
    3. C'solely for completeness'
    4. D'no measurable zoological value'
    5. E'at an easy bound towards the brook'
  12. 501 mark

    The naturalist says it would be 'injudicious' to call the hares' exercise play.

    Select the TWO words closest to injudicious in this context.

    Select TWO answers.

    1. Aunwise
    2. Bpremature
    3. Cunscientific
    4. Duntruthful
    5. Eunkind

Section D: Comparing Text 1 and Text 2 (about 10 minutes)

Use both Text 1 and Text 2 to answer questions 51 to 62.

Some questions ask for all the answers that apply. Read the wording carefully.

  1. 511 mark

    Both narrators watch an animal respond to a human presence. Which statements are supported by BOTH texts?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. AThe animal notices more than the observer first assumes.
    2. BThe observer records a change in the animal's distance from a person.
    3. CThe animal is tempted closer with food.
    4. DThe observer eventually corrects an earlier judgement.
    5. EThe animal leaves at a run because it is frightened.
  2. 521 mark

    Which features belong to the rescue narrative but not to the field journal?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. Adialogue quoted between people
    2. Breflection across a gap of many years
    3. Cclock times for individual animal actions
    4. Dan animal leaving in a car
    5. Emeasurements in yards, feet and inches
  3. 531 mark

    Each narrator's pride is quietly exposed. Which details contribute to that effect?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. AJonah calls his age and rota position qualifications.
    2. BJonah keeps the newspaper cutting for years.
    3. CThe naturalist contrasts his evidence with careless observers.
    4. DThe naturalist admits privately congratulating himself.
    5. EBoth narrators say directly that they were foolish.
  4. 541 mark

    The texts use numbers for different purposes. Which comparisons are accurate?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. AText 1 uses repeated visits to show patience developing over time.
    2. BText 2 uses times to establish the order and duration of observation.
    3. CText 1 measures Fable's height to make its account objective.
    4. DText 2 counts actions to support evidence rather than impression.
    5. EBoth texts give the exact distance an animal travels.
  5. 551 mark

    Which details in the two texts support the idea that waiting can reveal more than interference?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. AMrs Iqbal lets Fable come out without calling him.
    2. BJonah makes Fable trot twice for the visiting family.
    3. CFable enters the car after Jonah stops pulling.
    4. DThe naturalist remains by the hedge while the hares continue their behaviour.
    5. EThe naturalist calls other observers careless.
  6. 561 mark

    Which qualities distinguish the Victorian journal's voice from Jonah's narrative voice?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. AIt dates observations to the minute.
    2. BIt uses technical-sounding qualifications.
    3. CIt reports exchanges in direct speech.
    4. DIt treats emotion as evidence of limited value.
    5. EIt explains mistakes with adult hindsight over many years.
  7. 571 mark

    Movement helps each writer show an animal's freedom to decide. Which examples do that?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. AFable approaches Mrs Iqbal without being called.
    2. BFable leans backwards against the tightened lead.
    3. CThe hares repeat their vertical and passing manoeuvre.
    4. DThe larger hare keeps one ear towards the road.
    5. EBoth hares depart easily rather than in alarm.
  8. 581 mark

    Both narrators soften an uncomfortable truth about themselves before finally admitting it. Which statements trace that pattern accurately?

    Select ALL that apply.

    Select ALL the answers that are correct.

    1. AJonah calls Fable's retreat a problem with the echo before recognising his own pressure.
    2. BJonah treats the first approach to Mrs Iqbal as coincidence before valuing Fable's choices.
    3. CThe naturalist blames the changed breeze before accepting the hares had seen his notebook.
    4. DThe naturalist's phrase 'obliged to consider' delays an admission that his concealment failed.
    5. EBoth narrators entirely abandon their original methods by the end.
  9. 591 mark

    Which option best describes the main contrast in how the narrators gain understanding?

    1. AJonah learns chiefly through other people's corrections and later reflection, while the naturalist reasons from a short sequence of observed evidence.
    2. BJonah relies on measurements he later doubts, while the naturalist relies on advice from an experienced colleague.
    3. CJonah understands Fable immediately but cannot persuade Val, while the naturalist misunderstands every action he records.
    4. DJonah observes one summer without writing anything down, while the naturalist records a lifetime of repeated visits.
    5. EJonah studies one animal's body, while the naturalist is concerned only with the meadow's atmosphere.
  10. 601 mark

    Which option most accurately contrasts the treatment of emotion in the two endings?

    1. AText 1 remains uncertain what Fable needed, while Text 2 is certain why the hares departed.
    2. BText 1 celebrates a successful rescue without reservation, while Text 2 mourns openly when the hares leave.
    3. CText 1 hides feeling behind measurements, while Text 2 explains feeling through direct conversation.
    4. DText 1 names regret through a clear moral judgement, while Text 2 reveals loss and then tries to dismiss it as scientifically worthless.
    5. EText 1 blames the newspaper for its mistake, while Text 2 blames natural philosophy for limiting the record.
  11. 611 mark

    Text 1 says Fable became 'as uninteresting as a rolled umbrella'; Text 2 describes the hare's ears with 'unusual exactitude'.

    What is the most important difference between these descriptions?

    1. AThe umbrella comparison conveys a boy's impatient judgement, while exactitude disguises the naturalist's admiration as formal observation.
    2. BThe umbrella comparison proves Fable was inactive, while exactitude proves the hare deliberately controlled each ear.
    3. CThe umbrella comparison is humorous, while exactitude supplies an exact numerical measurement.
    4. DThe umbrella comparison criticises visitors, while exactitude criticises careless naturalists.
    5. EThe umbrella comparison describes appearance, while exactitude describes only the observer's position.
  12. 621 mark

    Why is the naturalist's field journal an effective companion to Jonah's account of finding Fable a home?

    1. AJonah admits his campaign for Fable was clumsy, while the naturalist claims his careful method left no room at all for error.
    2. BJonah learns that his pushing had kept Fable from choosing, and the naturalist's careful distance still could not stop him feeling the hares' absence once they had gone.
    3. CJonah's story shows Val correcting him at every stage, while the naturalist works entirely alone with nobody to correct his method.
    4. DBoth writers conclude that animals should never be approached, since any human presence changes how they behave.
    5. EJonah's account shows that greyhounds settle faster than hares around strangers, which the naturalist's measurements happen to confirm.
Answers, mark scheme and worked explanations
  1. 11 mark

    B

    Accommodate has two c letters and two m letters: ac-com-modate.

    A loses one c, C loses a c and an m, D changes the second o to a, and E adds a final t.

  2. 21 mark

    D

    Start from conscience, keep conscien, then finish with tious: conscien-tious.

    Consciencious keeps the c of conscience where the t belongs. Conscientous drops the i out of tious, conscentious drops the i after the sci, and concientious loses the s altogether.

  3. 31 mark

    C

    Parallel has one r and then a double l in the middle, with a single l on the end. The two l letters side by side are the parallel lines, which is the picture worth keeping.

    Parrallel doubles the r instead. Paralell moves the double pair to the end, parallell doubles both, and paralel leaves only one l in the middle.

  4. 41 mark

    A

    Pronunciation comes from pronounce, but it does not keep the second o: pro-nun-ci-a-tion.

    Pronounciation is the common trap; B and E lose a syllable, while D uses the wrong middle vowel.

  5. 51 mark

    C

    Committee doubles three times over: double m, double t, double e. Counting the pairs as you write it is the whole trick.

    Comittee has a single m, commitee a single t and committe a single e. Comitee manages to lose two pairs at once.

  6. 61 mark

    B

    Environment keeps environ intact before -ment: en-viron-ment.

    A drops the n, C adds an e, D reverses io, and E doubles the r.

  7. 71 mark

    B

    Lightning, the flash in a storm, has no e between light and ning.

    Lightening means making something lighter. C drops letters, D doubles n, and E has the wrong final vowel.

  8. 81 mark

    A

    Thorough is spelled th-o-r-o-u-g-h.

    B doubles r, C begins with the wrong vowel sound, D adds an extra u, and E drops the second o.

  9. 91 mark

    C

    Persuade has the pattern per-suade.

    A uses w for the sound, B changes a to e, D begins pur-, and E adds a second s.

  10. 101 mark

    D

    Sufficient has two f letters and the ending -cient.

    A drops an i, B drops an f, C changes e to a, and E adds a second c.

  11. 111 mark

    A

    The second paragraph lists rinsing bowls, pegging blankets on the fence and walking the quieter dogs.

    The other options borrow real activities or places but replace at least one of Jonah's stated jobs.

  12. 121 mark

    C

    Fable is fawn with a white comma on his chest.

    Blue belongs to his kennel card and red spots belong to the scarf, not to his coat.

  13. 131 mark

    C

    The passage states, 'She returned four times.' These are four visits after the first meeting.

    The third and fourth visits are described individually, but that does not make them the total.

  14. 141 mark

    B

    Jonah records that she worked nights in a hospital laboratory.

    The other workplaces appear plausible from the story's setting, but none is her job.

  15. 151 mark

    A

    On adoption day she places Fable's blanket on the back seat before sitting in front.

    The biscuits, clipboard, ball and card occur earlier but are not put in the car.

  16. 161 mark

    B

    B holds both truths together: Jonah persisted and eventually stood back, but Fable and Mrs Iqbal made the decisive connection.

    A, D and E contain real features of his story but do not explain 'hero'. C accepts Jonah's childish belief that everyone else had given up, which the passage never confirms.

  17. 171 mark

    A

    An audition is a prepared performance for approval. Jonah polishes the card, coat and entrance so visitors will choose Fable.

    B, C and D describe parts of his activity, but miss his attempt to impress an audience. E reverses who is being made to pass the test.

  18. 181 mark

    B

    Val treats hiding as an answer: Fable has plainly shown how he feels about noise and pressure. Jonah dislikes that honest display because it will not sell him.

    A and C are true details but stop before Val's meaning. D is Jonah's excuse. E narrows the answer to training, which Val does not say Fable needs.

  19. 191 mark

    B

    Manufactured makes Jonah sound like a maker claiming ownership of the result. B adds the crucial contrast with Fable's own choices and sense of safety.

    A, C, D and E are all parts of Jonah's campaign, but each is less precise about the pride exposed by the verb.

  20. 201 mark

    C

    Fable struggles when asked to perform. By turning aside and staying quiet, Mrs Iqbal leaves approaching as his choice, and he comes out.

    A, B and E match what is happening around her but not why it helps Fable. D may sound plausible, yet nothing shows she is uncertain.

  21. 211 mark

    A

    Jonah says he wanted her to see what Fable could do. She replies that his unprompted approach was already the meaningful thing she had seen.

    B and C become visible too, while D may be developing and E uses Jonah's idea of a demonstration. Only A identifies the achievement her reply protects.

  22. 221 mark

    A

    A character reference proves personal qualities. Val's comparison says property cannot prove patience or kindness, both of which Mrs Iqbal has demonstrated.

    E is broadly true but less exact because Val is correcting Jonah's repeated preference for a garden. B, C and D contain relevant practical ideas without explaining the comparison.

  23. 231 mark

    B

    The sentence contrasts two kinds of direction. Jonah thinks of a route, but Fable needs the reliable location of someone who will wait for him.

    A, D and E are partly involved in the scene, but B includes both presence and freedom from force. C explains only the literal route that the narrator dismisses.

  24. 241 mark

    B

    The contradiction disappears once help is judged by what Fable needs. Not pulling gives the dog the choice that Jonah's campaigns kept taking away.

    A, C, D and E are true around the event, but none explains why inaction itself was more useful than his previous activity.

  25. 251 mark

    A and C

    A rolled umbrella sits quietly without attracting attention, so unobtrusive and ordinary fit the comparison.

    It may be closed, but that describes its shape rather than the meaning of uninteresting. Useless and unfriendly add judgements the sentence does not make.

  26. 261 mark

    A and C

    He is persistent because he works for months. He is presumptuous because he assumes he understands Fable and prospective adopters better than Val or the dog.

    He sometimes notices details, but repeatedly misreads them, so perceptive is too generous. He is neither neglectful nor secretive.

  27. 271 mark

    A and C

    She returns repeatedly, waits and limits her own movements, so patient and restrained are most exact.

    She is not detached: her attention is careful. Hesitant suggests uncertainty, and playful better describes Jonah's toys and scarf.

  28. 281 mark

    A and E

    'I never gave up on him' centres Jonah and treats Fable as his achievement, making it self-important and possessive.

    It once sounded triumphant, but the adult's criticism goes further. Patient is only partly flattering, while selfless is the opposite of his new judgement.

  29. 291 mark

    E

    The blankets are pegged on a wire fence, not dried on a brick wall.

    The location, former use, roofs and nettle field are all stated in the second paragraph.

  30. 301 mark

    C

    The passage explicitly says Fable had not ruined a carpet.

    A, B, D and E are all directly supported, though they come from different stages of the summer.

  31. 311 mark

    E

    Her night work is noted, but Jonah never says it would leave Fable alone too often.

    A and B make up his 'hopeless column', C is stated, and D motivates the squeaked ball.

  32. 321 mark

    B

    Val crouches beside Jonah after Fable hides, but she deliberately does not reach beneath the shelf.

    Her warning, question, removal of the clipboard and final instruction are all in the passage.

  33. 331 mark

    A and B and D

    The new card, rehearsed entrance and scarf are all parts of presenting Fable attractively.

    C records rejection rather than impressing a visitor. E is the moment Jonah stops presenting him.

  34. 341 mark

    A and B and C and E

    A, B, C and E form a sequence from investigation to contact and sleep.

    D never occurs. Mrs Iqbal brings no treats, which helps distinguish her method from Jonah's.

  35. 351 mark

    A and C and D

    A, C and D state the adult insight: desire did not ensure understanding, his quotation centred him, and choice was what Fable needed.

    B is the boy's comic belief, while E repeats the mistaken housing judgement.

  36. 361 mark

    B and C and D

    The clap, squeak and tightened lead each produce retreat or resistance.

    A is compliance for food rather than an obviously bad response, and E shows complete relaxation.

  37. 371 mark

    A and B and C and E

    A supplies heat; B, C and E build the layered smell of the passage between the kennels.

    D is a sound detail from a later meeting. It makes the space vivid, but not hot or scented.

  38. 381 mark

    A and B and C

    The final sentence names pulling and presenting, and 'claimed to know' shows he has stopped assuming the right to speak for Fable.

    Nothing says he stopped his kennel duties, and remembering is what allows the adult narration.

  39. 391 mark

    A

    A covers both purposes: seven bites are evidence, and 'careless observers' lets the writer congratulate himself by contrast.

    B, D and E reflect his method, but miss the faint boast. C is possible in the subject area, yet appetite is not his stated complaint.

  40. 401 mark

    B

    Each ear monitors a different direction. 'Exactitude' sounds technical, but it also carries restrained admiration for such efficient alertness.

    A makes the hare pose, C claims sounds the writer cannot know, and D ranks two equal directions. E is a plausible use of detail but not the phrase's effect.

  41. 411 mark

    D

    He can observe three leaps, but 'play' interprets their purpose. His caution is scientifically sound even though his nursery remark is pompous.

    B and E capture his tone, while A and C capture uncertainty, but D most exactly distinguishes evidence from interpretation.

  42. 421 mark

    A

    A includes evidence, revision and wounded pride: he had privately praised his concealment, but the hares probably knew he was there and stayed calm.

    B, C, D and E each contain part of that reasoning. None includes as precisely why 'obliged' is comic and reluctant.

  43. 431 mark

    C

    A place cannot literally become less exact. The awkward scientific phrase converts an emotional absence into something that sounds measurable.

    A and D help create the wordplay, B uses the dusk, and E fits his caution, but only C explains both feeling and disguise.

  44. 441 mark

    D

    The hares came within six feet, not six yards.

    All four other measurements are stated. The changed unit is the trap.

  45. 451 mark

    D

    The seven bites occur at 8.23, eight minutes before the interval begins.

    The second arrival, leaps, changed breeze and departure all occur from 8.31 to 8.42.

  46. 461 mark

    C

    There is no movement closer after the second hare appears.

    A, B, D and E all show his combination of precise observation and correction.

  47. 471 mark

    A and B and C

    The smaller hare arrives at 8.31, passes under the other during the manoeuvre and later washes its forepaws.

    Seven bites belong to the first hare, and both depart easily rather than in alarm.

  48. 481 mark

    A and B and C and E

    Times, measurements, qualified estimates and caution about calling the action play all create a scientific register.

    No conversation occurs. The writer is alone and addresses no companion.

  49. 491 mark

    A and C and D

    A rejects the feeling-laden word play, while C and D frame his emotional final impression as unwanted scientific material.

    B admits pride rather than suppressing feeling. E is a calm observation of movement.

  50. 501 mark

    A and B

    Injudicious means showing poor judgement. Here unwise and premature fit because the evidence does not yet justify the label.

    Unscientific is the likely result, not the closest meaning. Untruthful and unkind suggest moral faults absent from the sentence.

  51. 511 mark

    A and B and D

    Fable notices and chooses Mrs Iqbal; the hares probably know the naturalist is present. Both texts track approach or distance and make an observer revise a belief.

    Food draws Fable during one display but not the hares, and neither text ends with a frightened run.

  52. 521 mark

    A and B and D

    Text 1 contains spoken exchanges, adult hindsight and Fable's car journey.

    Exact clock times and measurements belong to Text 2, not the rescue narrative.

  53. 531 mark

    A and C and D

    Jonah's claimed qualifications are comic self-importance. The naturalist elevates his method and admits private self-congratulation.

    Keeping a cutting does not by itself prove pride for all those years, and neither narrator directly calls himself foolish.

  54. 541 mark

    A and B and D

    Four return visits build Mrs Iqbal's patient relationship. Text 2's clock times order the entry, and seven bites support its claim to evidence.

    Text 1 gives no height or travel distance, and Text 2 gives positions rather than a total distance travelled.

  55. 551 mark

    A and C and D

    Mrs Iqbal's stillness, Jonah's final pause and the naturalist's stationary observation all allow animal behaviour to unfold.

    The forced trot is interference, while the criticism of other observers concerns precision rather than waiting.

  56. 561 mark

    A and B and D

    Minute-by-minute dating, qualified claims and dismissal of feeling give Text 2 its formal journal voice.

    Direct speech and long retrospective hindsight are features of Text 1.

  57. 571 mark

    A and B and C and E

    A and B show Fable choosing approach or refusal. C and E show the hares acting and leaving without the observer directing them.

    D is a position of attention, not an example of movement used to show freedom of decision.

  58. 581 mark

    A and B and D

    Jonah first supplies excuses for behaviour he dislikes, and the naturalist wraps his correction in reluctant wording.

    Text 2 never says the hares saw a notebook, and neither ending proves that the narrators abandon every method they used.

  59. 591 mark

    A

    Val and Mrs Iqbal challenge Jonah, and adulthood changes his interpretation. The naturalist uses times, wind and behaviour within twenty-five minutes to revise one judgement.

    The other options exchange the texts' methods or overstate one narrator's success or failure.

  60. 601 mark

    D

    Jonah judges his boast and states what Fable needed. The naturalist's 'less exact place' admits loss, then 'no measurable zoological value' attempts to exclude it.

    B misses both reservations. C reverses the styles, and A and E invent certainty or blame absent from the endings.

  61. 611 mark

    A

    Jonah's simile exposes his demand for sparkle. The journal's grand word keeps its admiration within a supposedly scientific register.

    B gives the animals intentions not proved, C confuses a tone word with a number, and D and E misidentify what the phrases describe.

  62. 621 mark

    B

    Jonah's final stillness finally lets Fable choose, undoing what his whole campaign had denied him. The naturalist keeps his distance and his measurements throughout, yet 'a less exact place' shows that watching from afar did not spare him from noticing what the hares' leaving had cost him.

    A makes the naturalist sound more certain than 'obliged to consider' allows. C is true of Val's role but ignores what the journal teaches its own writer. D and E turn one detail from each text into a rule or a comparison that neither text supports.

Sutton Selective Eligibility Test, Stage 1, English (multiple choice). Written by Revision Library on 2026-08-29, independent check pending.

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