Reading and Comprehension (Prose) Set 3
Reading and Comprehension (Prose) Set 3 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 whole extract carefully before answering, forming a clear picture of what is happening, where, and to whom.
- Underline or note key words in each question, especially command words like "explain", "find" or "summarise", since they tell you what kind of answer is expected.
- For vocabulary questions, look at how the word is used in context, since this often gives a strong clue to its meaning even if the word itself is unfamiliar.
- For inference questions, always base your answer on evidence in the text rather than guessing, and be ready to say which detail led you to your conclusion.
- For questions on the writer's technique, name the technique, quote it briefly, and then explain its effect on the reader.
- Check your answers use full sentences where required, and that you have not simply copied long sections of the extract instead of explaining them.
Worked example
In an extract about a deep-sea dive, the writer describes the ocean floor as "a graveyard of silence, swallowing every sound the divers made." Explain what this metaphor suggests and comment on its effect on the reader. (3 marks)
- Identify the technique: this is a metaphor, since the ocean floor is described directly as "a graveyard of silence", not compared using "like" or "as".
- Note the qualities of a graveyard being transferred to the ocean floor: stillness, silence, and something slightly unsettling or connected to death.
- Link this to meaning: the metaphor suggests the ocean floor is completely silent, isolated and perhaps a little frightening, since even the divers' own sounds disappear into it.
- Comment on the effect on the reader: it creates an eerie, tense atmosphere, making the setting feel vast, lonely and faintly threatening. Final answer: the metaphor suggests the ocean floor is eerily silent and isolating, and it creates a tense, unsettling atmosphere 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 "enormous" in a sentence describing a huge shipwreck: "colossal", "tiny", "narrow" or "shallow"?Show answer
Answer: Colossal.
Q2A question asks you to "find and copy one phrase" meaning "completely dark." Which of these fits: "pitch black", "faintly lit", "clear blue" or "softly glowing"?Show answer
Answer: Pitch black.
Q3A writer describes a current as "dragging greedy fingers along the wreck." Name the technique used here.Show answer
Answer: Personification (the current is given the human quality of greed and the ability to use fingers).
Q4In an extract, a diver "checked her air gauge twice in under a minute." What does this suggest about how she is feeling?Show answer
Answer: That she is anxious or worried about running out of air; checking it repeatedly shows nervousness.
Q5A question is worth 5 marks and asks you to explain how a 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 diver signals "all clear" with a steady hand, but his eyes keep darting towards the wreck's dark entrance. Explain what the contrast between his signal and his eyes suggests.Show answer
Answer: It suggests he is not really calm; the confident signal contrasts with his nervous glances, hinting that he senses danger he is not admitting to.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 13+ Common Entrance exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Look at this sentence describing a shark passing close to a diver: "It slid by like a shadow with teeth, gone before she could even flinch." 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 diving bell: "Rust had eaten through its once-gleaming hull, and barnacles clustered where portholes had shattered long ago." Explain how the writer uses language and detail here to suggest that the diving bell has been underwater 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 torch beam wavered across the wreck's hull. Somewhere below, metal groaned against metal, as though the ship itself were shifting in its sleep. Amara's grip tightened on the guide rope, and for a long moment she did not move at all." Explain how the writer creates a sense of tension in this extract. Refer to at least three details or techniques in your answer.
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 3 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 8 of 13+ English Workbook, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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