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11+ · English - Reading and Writing

EP.E71 Comprehension: Playscript Extract Set 2

GL ASSESSMENT / CSSE 11+ Entrance English (GL Assessment / CSSE style) · Calculators not allowed · about 50 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Show all your working.

The Box in the Attic

Source written for Revision Library (original, copyright-free). Fictional playscript extract created for 11+ comprehension practice.

THE BOX IN THE ATTIC

CHARACTERS

MAYA, twelve years old, careful and observant

JAKE, fifteen years old, Maya's cousin, impatient and easily bored

SETTING

The attic of Grandma Pearl's cottage in Whitby, on a wet Saturday afternoon. A single bare bulb hangs from a beam. Old trunks, a rocking horse missing one ear, and stacks of newspapers crowd the sloping room. Rain drums steadily on the roof tiles.

(MAYA kneels beside an open trunk, lifting out folded blankets one at a time. JAKE leans in the doorway, arms crossed, watching the rain streak the small round window.)

JAKE: (sighing) I don't know why Grandma sent us up here. It's freezing, and there's nothing but old blankets and spiders.

MAYA: (not looking up) There might be something interesting. She said there were 'things worth finding' if we looked properly.

JAKE: (rolling his eyes) That's what grown-ups always say about attics. It's never true.

(MAYA's hand stops on something hard beneath the last blanket. She pulls out a small wooden box, its corners bound in tarnished brass, a keyhole but no key.)

MAYA: (softly) Jake. Look at this.

(JAKE crosses the room quickly, crouching beside her. He reaches for the box.)

JAKE: Give it here, then.

MAYA: (pulling it back slightly) Wait - it's locked. We shouldn't just pull at it.

JAKE: (under his breath) Since when do you care about 'shouldn't'?

MAYA: Since it's not ours. There could be a reason it's locked.

(A pause. JAKE sits back on his heels, studying the box properly for the first time. He runs a thumb over the brass corner.)

JAKE: (quieter now) Sorry. I just - I want to know what's inside. Don't you?

MAYA: (turning the box over in her hands) Course I do. That's exactly why we should be careful. If we force it and something's fragile inside, we won't get a second chance.

(Thunder rumbles far off. JAKE glances at the window, then back at the box.)

JAKE: Fine. Ask Grandma, then. She'll know where the key is.

MAYA: (hesitating) Or... we could look first. Properly, I mean. There might be a clue up here.

(She sets the box down carefully on a folded blanket and begins searching through the trunk again, more slowly this time, checking pockets of old coats and the seams of a velvet pouch.)

JAKE: (brightening, joining in) What am I looking for?

MAYA: Anything small. Metal. Anything that doesn't belong with blankets.

(JAKE digs through a shoebox of buttons and ribbon, then stops, holding up a thin brass key on a length of faded string.)

JAKE: (quietly, almost disbelieving) Maya.

(MAYA turns. For a moment neither of them moves.)

MAYA: (barely a whisper) Try it.

(JAKE holds the key out to her instead.)

JAKE: You found the box. You should.

(MAYA takes the key. Her hand is not quite steady as she fits it to the lock.)

Where does the scene take place? Give the name of the room and the location.

(Total for Question 1 is 1 mark)

What is the weather like outside during the scene? Support your answer with a detail from the text.

(Total for Question 2 is 2 marks)

State the ages of the two characters in the extract.

(a)How old is Maya?(1)

(b)How old is Jake?(1)

(Total for Question 3 is 2 marks)

Which single word does Jake use to show he doubts what grown-ups usually say about attics?

(Total for Question 4 is 1 mark)

In the stage direction 'JAKE crosses the room quickly, crouching beside her', what does the word 'crouching' mean?

(Total for Question 5 is 1 mark)

Look at the stage direction 'its corners bound in tarnished brass' (used to describe the box). Explain what 'tarnished' tells us about the brass, and what this suggests about the box itself.

(Total for Question 6 is 2 marks)

Read each statement below. Write True, Not True or Cannot Tell for each, using only what the extract tells you.

(a)Jake is looking forward to being in the attic.(1)

True
Not True
Cannot Tell

(b)Maya has visited this attic before this rainy Saturday.(1)

True
Not True
Cannot Tell

(c)The wooden box has a keyhole but no key when Maya first finds it.(1)

True
Not True
Cannot Tell

(Total for Question 7 is 3 marks)

Find and copy one word or short phrase that shows the box has never been opened before this scene.

(Total for Question 8 is 1 mark)

Give one adjective from the text that describes the shape of the attic room.

(Total for Question 9 is 1 mark)

Give two details from the text about what the wooden box looks like.

(Total for Question 10 is 2 marks)

What does the stage direction '(rolling his eyes)' suggest about Jake's attitude towards being in the attic at the start of the extract?

(Total for Question 11 is 2 marks)

What does the stage direction '(quietly, almost disbelieving)' suggest about how Jake feels at the moment he finds the key?

(Total for Question 12 is 2 marks)

Explain what Maya means when she says, 'That's exactly why we should be careful.'

(Total for Question 13 is 2 marks)

Why do you think the playwright chose to include the detail of thunder rumbling at that point in the scene?

(Total for Question 14 is 2 marks)

What effect does the one-word line 'JAKE: (quietly, almost disbelieving) Maya.' have on the reader or audience?

(Total for Question 15 is 2 marks)

What does the stage direction '(barely a whisper)' tell an actor about how to say the line 'Try it'?

(Total for Question 16 is 2 marks)

Give two purposes of the stage directions (the words in brackets) in a playscript like this one.

(Total for Question 17 is 2 marks)

Explain in your own words why Maya does not want Jake to force the box open.

(Total for Question 18 is 2 marks)

Number the following events 1 to 4 to show the order in which they happen in the extract: 'Jake finds a brass key in a shoebox of buttons and ribbon', 'Maya fits the key to the lock', 'Maya lifts blankets out of the trunk and discovers a locked wooden box', 'Maya suggests searching for a clue before asking Grandma for help'.

(Total for Question 19 is 2 marks)

Why does Jake insist that Maya should be the one to use the key, rather than doing it himself?

(Total for Question 20 is 2 marks)

Explain how the writer shows that Jake's attitude changes during the extract. Use two examples from the text to support your answer.

(Total for Question 21 is 3 marks)

Compare Maya and Jake as characters, using evidence from the extract.

(Total for Question 22 is 3 marks)

Predict what you think happens next in the scene, immediately after the extract ends. Give a reason for your prediction, using evidence from the extract.

(Total for Question 23 is 3 marks)

Why might the playwright have chosen not to reveal what is inside the box by the end of the extract?

(Total for Question 24 is 2 marks)

Mark scheme · EP.E71 Comprehension: Playscript Extract Set 2

Question 1

B1 the attic of Grandma Pearl's cottage, in Whitby - accept 'the attic' alone for the mark
Answer: The attic of Grandma Pearl's cottage, in Whitby.

Question 2

B1 identifies the weather as wet / rainy / stormy
B1 gives an accurate supporting detail, e.g. 'Rain drums steadily on the roof tiles' or 'Thunder rumbles far off' - accept any correct quotation or close paraphrase
Answer: It is rainy and stormy. Evidence: 'Rain drums steadily on the roof tiles' and, later, 'Thunder rumbles far off.'

Question 3

(a) B1 twelve / 12
(a) Answer: Twelve years old.
(b) B1 fifteen / 15
(b) Answer: Fifteen years old.

Question 4

B1 'never' - from 'It's never true.'
Answer: 'Never'.

Question 5

B1 bending down low with the knees bent - accept: kneeling down / squatting down / getting down low oe
Answer: Bending down low, with the knees bent, so as to be at the same level as Maya.

Question 6

B1 correct meaning of tarnished: dulled / discoloured / faded with age - accept 'gone dull' oe
B1 links this to the box being old / kept for a long time / not cleaned or handled recently - accept any reasonable inference that the box is old oe
Answer: 'Tarnished' means the brass has become dull and discoloured with age, suggesting the box is old and has not been handled or cleaned for a long time.

Question 7

(a) B1 Not True
(a) Answer: Not True.
(b) B1 Cannot Tell
(b) Answer: Cannot Tell.
(c) B1 True
(c) Answer: True.

Question 8

B1 'a keyhole but no key' or 'no key' - must be copied accurately from the text
Answer: 'a keyhole but no key'

Question 9

B1 'sloping' - must be the word used in the text, or a close synonym clearly taken from context
Answer: 'Sloping' (the sloping room).

Question 10

B1 any one accurate detail, e.g. small / wooden / corners bound in tarnished brass / has a keyhole but no key
B1 a second, different accurate detail from the list above
Answer: Any two of: it is small; it is wooden; its corners are bound in tarnished brass; it has a keyhole but no key.

Question 11

B1 identifies that Jake feels bored / unimpressed / dismissive / impatient
B1 links this to his disbelief that anything interesting will be found, supported by reference to his words about grown-ups' claims never being true oe
Answer: It suggests Jake is bored and dismissive - he does not believe anything interesting will be found and is impatient with Grandma's suggestion.

Question 12

B1 identifies shock / surprise / astonishment
B1 links this to the idea that he can hardly believe he has actually found what they were looking for, showing a change from his earlier boredom oe
Answer: It suggests Jake is genuinely astonished - he can hardly believe they have actually found the key, which is a change from his earlier boredom.

Question 13

B1 recognises that Maya is responding to Jake's admission that he wants to know what is inside
B1 explains that wanting to know is exactly why they must be careful, because rushing could damage something fragile inside oe
Answer: Maya means that because they both want to know what is inside so much, they must be extra careful - if they rush and something inside is fragile, it could be damaged and they would never get the chance to see it undamaged.

Question 14

B1 recognises that it builds tension, drama or a sense of unease / suspense
B1 links this to the timing - it comes just as Jake and Maya are deciding what to do about the locked box, adding to the sense that something important is about to happen oe
Answer: The thunder adds tension and drama at a key moment in the scene, making the audience feel that something significant is about to happen just as the characters are deciding how to deal with the locked box.

Question 15

B1 recognises that the short / one-word line creates a pause, slows the pace, or builds tension / suspense
B1 links this to the significance of the moment (Jake has just found the key) and / or the change it signals in his character oe
Answer: The single word slows the pace right down and creates a pause, drawing attention to the importance of the moment (Jake has just found the key) and building suspense before the reader learns exactly what he has found.

Question 16

B1 recognises the line should be spoken very quietly / softly
B1 links this to the tension / nervousness / seriousness of the moment oe
Answer: It tells the actor to speak the line very quietly and softly, showing how nervous and serious Maya feels at this tense moment.

Question 17

B1 first valid purpose, e.g. tell actors how to say a line / show a character's tone or feelings
B1 second, different valid purpose, e.g. describe actions or movements / describe the setting for readers, directors and designers
Answer: Any two of: they tell actors how to say a line or what to feel; they describe a character's actions or movements; they describe the setting for readers, directors and designers.

Question 18

B1 recognises that the box belongs to someone else / is locked for a possible reason
B1 recognises that forcing it could damage something fragile inside, and they would not get another chance oe - must be in the candidate's own words, not lifted directly from the text
Answer: Maya feels the box is not theirs and may be locked for a reason, so if they force it open and something inside is delicate, they could break it and would never get the chance to see it as it should be.

Question 19

B1 correctly places 'Maya lifts blankets out of the trunk and discovers a locked wooden box' as event 1 and 'Maya suggests searching for a clue before asking Grandma for help' as event 2
B1 correctly places 'Jake finds a brass key in a shoebox of buttons and ribbon' as event 3 and 'Maya fits the key to the lock' as event 4
Answer: 1: Maya discovers the locked box in the trunk; 2: Maya suggests looking for a clue first; 3: Jake finds the key in the shoebox; 4: Maya fits the key to the lock.

Question 20

B1 recognises Jake says this because Maya found the box first ('You found the box. You should.')
B1 recognises this shows Jake's growing respect / fairness towards Maya, a change from his earlier attempt to grab the box oe
Answer: Jake says it is because Maya found the box first, showing that he now respects her and wants to be fair, which is a real change from his earlier attempt to grab the box for himself.

Question 21

Level 1 (1): A simple, general comment that Jake changes during the extract, with little or no reference to the text.
Level 2 (2-3): A clear and, at the top of the band, detailed explanation of how Jake's attitude changes, supported by two relevant and, where appropriate, embedded quotations or references.
Indicative content:
- Jake starts out bored and dismissive, complaining 'I don't know why Grandma sent us up here'
- He initially tries to grab the box straight away ('Give it here, then')
- He apologises and admits his own curiosity ('Sorry. I just - I want to know what's inside')
- He joins Maya's careful search willingly and even asks how to help ('brightening, joining in', 'What am I looking for?')
- By the end he insists Maya should use the key because she found the box ('You found the box. You should.'), showing new respect and fairness

Question 22

Level 1 (1): A simple comment identifying one difference between the characters, with little or no reference to the text.
Level 2 (2-3): A clear, and at the top of the band well-developed, comparison of both characters, supported by relevant evidence, including at least one point that links the two characters together.
Indicative content:
- Maya is careful and cautious throughout, shown by 'we shouldn't just pull at it' and her insistence on looking for a clue first
- Jake starts out impatient and bored, shown by 'Give it here, then' and his early complaints
- Jake becomes more thoughtful and careful as the scene goes on, influenced by Maya's caution
- A strong answer will make a clear comparative link, e.g. that Maya's caution influences Jake to slow down and think more carefully before acting
- Both characters show excitement and curiosity about the box, but express it differently (Maya through careful searching, Jake through initial impatience followed by quiet astonishment)

Question 23

Level 1 (1): A plausible prediction with little or no supporting evidence from the extract.
Level 2 (2-3): A plausible, text-consistent prediction supported by one or, at the top of the band, two pieces of relevant evidence or developed reasoning from the extract.
Indicative content:
- A plausible prediction is that Maya turns the key and the box opens, revealing its contents
- Supporting evidence: the key has just been fitted to the lock, so opening it is imminent
- Supporting evidence: the extract has been steadily building tension towards a reveal, through details such as the thunder and the careful search
- Accept any well-reasoned, text-supported prediction even if it differs from the examples given, e.g. that they are interrupted by Grandma before opening it, provided it is justified with reference to the text

Question 24

B1 recognises that this creates suspense, curiosity or a cliffhanger for the reader / audience
B1 explains the effect further, e.g. it makes the audience want to keep reading / watching, or mirrors the characters' own uncertainty oe
Answer: Ending before the box is opened creates suspense and a cliffhanger, making the reader want to find out what happens next, and mirrors the characters' own nervous excitement about what might be inside.

Comprehension: Playscript Extract Set 2 - Worksheets, Questions and Revision