Reading and Comprehension (Prose) Set 4
Reading and Comprehension (Prose) Set 4 is a further set of ISEB Common Entrance style prose questions, giving practice at reading a new unfamiliar extract from a story and answering questions on understanding, inference, vocabulary and the writer's use of language.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Read the extract through once fully before answering any question, so you understand the sequence of events and who is involved.
- Note the tense and point of view the extract is written in, since this can affect how you understand a character's thoughts and feelings.
- For questions asking you to find information, scan for key words from the question rather than re-reading the whole extract from the start.
- For inference questions, always link your answer to a specific detail in the text, explaining what that detail suggests rather than just stating a feeling.
- For questions on the writer's choices, consider not just individual words but also sentence length and structure, since short sentences can create pace or tension.
- Where a question gives a number of marks, aim to make that many distinct, well-explained points rather than repeating the same idea.
Worked example
In an extract about a mountain expedition, the writer describes the blizzard as "a wall of white that swallowed the path whole." Explain what this metaphor suggests and comment on its effect on the reader. (3 marks)
- Identify the technique: this is a metaphor, since the blizzard is described directly as "a wall" that "swallowed" the path, not compared using "like" or "as".
- Note the qualities of a wall and swallowing being transferred to the blizzard: something solid, blocking, and able to completely consume what is in front of it.
- Link this to meaning: the metaphor suggests the blizzard is so thick and sudden that the climbers can no longer see or find the path at all.
- Comment on the effect on the reader: it creates a sudden sense of danger and disorientation, making the reader feel the climbers' loss of control over their situation. Final answer: the metaphor suggests the blizzard has completely blocked the climbers' view and path, and creates a sudden, alarming sense of danger for the reader.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1Which word means the same as "exhausted" in a sentence describing tired climbers: "drained", "energetic", "cheerful" or "restless"?Show answer
Answer: Drained.
Q2A question asks you to "find and copy one word" meaning "extremely cold." Which of these fits: "freezing", "mild", "warm" or "humid"?Show answer
Answer: Freezing.
Q3A writer describes the wind as "clawing at their jackets, determined to drag them off the mountain." Name the technique used here.Show answer
Answer: Personification (the wind is given the human quality of determination and the action of clawing).
Q4In an extract, a climber "kept checking the rope, tugging it twice before every step." What does this suggest about the climber?Show answer
Answer: That she is anxious, cautious or unsure of her safety; the repeated checking shows nervousness about the rope holding.
Q5A question is worth 5 marks and asks you to explain how the writer builds a sense of danger across a paragraph. Roughly how many separate, developed points should your answer include?Show answer
Answer: About four to five separate, well-explained points, roughly one per mark.
Q6A guide tells the group "we're nearly there" in a steady voice, but keeps glancing anxiously at the darkening sky. Explain what the contrast between his words and his glances suggests.Show answer
Answer: It suggests he is not entirely confident or reassured himself; the calm words contrast with his worried glances, hinting that he is concerned about the weather closing in.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 13+ Common Entrance exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Look at this sentence describing an avalanche in the distance: "It moved like a slow, white flood, silent until it was suddenly not." Explain what this simile suggests and comment on its effect on the reader.
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Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 3 available
A story extract describes an abandoned mountain hut: "Ice had crept up the inside of the windows in delicate feathers, and a single boot, long since frozen solid, sat abandoned by the cold hearth." Explain how the writer uses language and detail here to suggest that the hut has been empty for a long time. Support your answer with reference to at least two details.
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Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 4 available
Read this short extract: "The rope thinned to a single strand of white against the grey rock. Somewhere above, snow hissed loose and slid past in a fine curtain. Noah dug his fingers into the ledge and did not look down." Explain how the writer creates a sense of tension in this extract. Refer to at least three details or techniques in your answer.
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Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 6 available
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the reading and comprehension (prose) set 4 worksheet pack - 11 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
This topic is chapter 10 of 13+ English Workbook, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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