Reading and Comprehension (Prose) Set 7
Reading and Comprehension (Prose) Set 7 is further 13+ Common Entrance practice at reading a fiction extract and answering questions on meaning, inference, vocabulary, structure and the writer's use of language.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Read the whole extract through once before answering any question, to get a general sense of what is happening, who is involved, and where and when it is set.
- Look at the number of marks each question is worth and use it to judge how much detail and how many separate points your answer needs.
- Use any line or paragraph references in the question to find the exact part of the passage the question is about, rather than relying on memory.
- For inference questions, base your answer on evidence in the text, such as what a character says, does or notices, rather than guessing what you think should happen.
- When asked to explain a writer's use of language, name the technique, quote the exact words, and explain the effect the writer is trying to create.
- For summary questions, use your own words wherever possible, and check that you have covered every key point the question asks for.
Worked example
In an extract about a diver exploring a sunken ship, the writer describes the wreck as 'a great iron skeleton, ribs picked clean by a hundred years of tide.' Identify the technique used and explain its effect on the reader.
- Identify the technique: this is an extended metaphor, comparing the wreck to a skeleton, since the ship's structure is described using the language of bones ('ribs').
- Note what a skeleton suggests: something that was once alive and whole but is now stripped bare and lifeless.
- Link this to the wreck: the metaphor suggests the ship has been slowly worn away and hollowed out by the sea over a very long time.
- Comment on the effect: it creates an eerie, almost haunting atmosphere, making the reader picture the wreck as a dead, exposed body rather than simply an old, broken ship.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1A diver notices 'a single brass buckle winking in the torchlight.' Which word suggests the buckle is briefly catching and reflecting the light?Show answer
Answer: 'Winking' - personification suggesting a brief flash or twinkle of light.
Q2Which word class is 'cautiously' in the sentence 'She cautiously ran her glove along the rusted rail'?Show answer
Answer: An adverb - it describes how she ran her glove along the rail.
Q3A character 'held his breath without realising it' as he entered a dark passage. What does this suggest about his feelings?Show answer
Answer: That he is nervous, tense or afraid, shown through an involuntary physical reaction rather than a stated emotion.
Q4Find and copy one word from 'the corridor swallowed the beam of her torch' that gives the corridor a human or animal-like quality.Show answer
Answer: 'Swallowed' - personification.
Q5A question is worth 3 marks and asks you to explain the effect of a description. Roughly how many separate points should your answer include?Show answer
Answer: About two to three separate, developed points, roughly one per mark.
Q6A diver 'counted her breaths, trying to make each one last longer than the last.' What does this suggest about her situation?Show answer
Answer: That her air supply is limited and she is anxious or careful about how much she has left.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 13+ Common Entrance exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
'The beam of her torch slid over crates furred with rust, and something pale glimmered in the silt beyond them.' Explain what the description suggests about the wreck and comment on its effect.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 3 available
'Her torch flickered once, then steadied. Somewhere above her, the surface seemed impossibly far away. "Ten minutes," she reminded herself, "that's all." But her fingers, numb inside her gloves, had already begun to tremble.' Explain how the writer creates a sense of danger in this extract. Refer to at least two details or techniques.
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Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 4 available
'The chest lay half-buried, its lock a crust of orange rust. Maya's fingers hovered above it for a long moment before she reached out. When she touched the metal, a thin cloud of silt rose around her hand like smoke, and for a moment she could see nothing at all.' Explain how the writer builds tension in this extract. Refer to at least three techniques or details.
Show mark scheme
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 7 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 17 of 13+ English Workbook, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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