Form 2 Literature Pack

Level 7-8

Contents
Some words we need to learn ....................................................................................................... 3
Similes ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Trees ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Small Incident in Library ............................................................................................................ 6
The Great Hall .......................................................................................................................... 7
Personification ............................................................................................................................. 9
He who owns the Whistle, rules the World................................................................................. 9
Leisure ................................................................................................................................... 10
Metaphor................................................................................................................................... 12
A Poison Tree ......................................................................................................................... 12
Bonfire................................................................................................................................... 14
A most ungracious welcome.................................................................................................... 15
Approaching Draculas castle................................................................................................... 17
Onomatopoeia ........................................................................................................................... 19
The Sound Collector................................................................................................................ 19
The Cliff-tops.......................................................................................................................... 20
Danger on the ice ................................................................................................................... 21
Alliteration................................................................................................................................. 24
Moths and Moonshine ............................................................................................................ 24
A meeting by the sea .............................................................................................................. 25
Frog ....................................................................................................................................... 27
Circus..................................................................................................................................... 28
School Dinners ....................................................................................................................... 30
Harrys eleventh birthday........................................................................................................ 31
Carbreakers.................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Further practice.......................................................................................................................... 34
Make Believe.......................................................................................................................... 34
The night-terror...................................................................................................................... 36
Benny and Eve.............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Ocean is as one with the world ................................................................................................ 38
The wizards apprentice .......................................................................................................... 39

Some words we need to learn

First-person narration: writing from the "I" point of view. As in: I walked down the
alley, I picked up the phone, I told Tony that he was going down if he didn't cough up
the money by Saturday. I thought about it, then shook my head.

Flashback: when an event or scene taking place before the present time in the
narrative is inserted into the chronological structure of the work. A character may be
asked about something which happened to her/him in the past, and she/he narrates
it at length in the novel.

Free verse: a form of poetry which does not use consistent meter patterns (i.e.
number of syllables), rhyme, or any other musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the
rhythm of natural speech.

Iambic pentameter: A type of line in poetry. It is 10 syllables long. Syllables are

grouped in 5 pairs. The first syllable in each pair is unstressed, the second is stressed.
It sounds like this: daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM.
The first line of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: If music be the food of love, play on.

Monologue: a prolonged talk or discourse by a single speaker. Monos in Greek

means one. Contrast this with dialogue, which is when two or more people speak.

Rhyming couplet/pair: two lines of the same length that rhyme and complete one
thought. There is no limit to the length of the lines.

Sonnet: a type of poem made up of exactly 14 lines, divided into either 2 or 4

stanzas.

Third-person narration: writing using the he or she form. E.g.: He walked down
the alley. She picked up the phone, and Jason told Tony that he was going down if he
didn't cough up the money.

Similes
Similes are when the poet compares two things using the words like or (as) <adjective>
as <noun>.
An example of the first type: it was heavy like lead.
An example of the second type: as black as night.

Trees
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest1
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom2 snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
Joyce Kilmer

1. Underline the correct answer:

a. The theme of the poem is about
i. a detailed description of a tree.
ii. the beauty of trees, nature and the greatness of the Creator.
iii. the way robins make a nest in the tree.
iv. the way trees grow in the countryside with the soil and the rain.
b. This poem is
i. written in iambic pentameter.
ii. simple but effective.
iii. a sonnet.
iv. written in free verse.
1
2

Prest: pressed
Bosom: the chest of a human

c. The subject of the poem is

i. a description of a tree that is being compared to a human.
ii. about poets who are fools.
iii. about the way trees grow.
iv. God the Creator who looks at the trees growing in the fields.
1 marks [

2. Quote a simile from the poem.

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

3. Give an example of a rhyming pair from this poem.

_____________________________________________________________________
mark [

4. The poet compares the tree to a woman. List the body parts that the poet imagines
that the tree has. The first one has been done for you.
Example: mouth (stanza 2)
a. _______________

b. _______________

c. _______________
1 marks [

5. The tree looks at God all day.

Answer the following:
a. What is this figure of speech called? ________________________
1 mark [

b. Comment on the trees life and its actions.

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

6. Who are the trees close friends? List THREE.

Example: earth
a. _______________

b. __________________

c. __________________
1 marks [

7. In the last stanza what is the comparison being made? Complete the following
statements:
a. The poet compares _____________________ with _____________________.
1 mark [

b. This comparison has an effect on the reader because

_______________________________________________________________
1 mark [

Small Incident in Library

The little girl is lost among the books.

Two years old maybe, in bobble cap3,
White lacy tights, red coat.
She stands and looks. Cant see you, Mummy.
Mummy, next row up, Intent4 on reading answers absently:
Im here, love. Child calls out again: Cant see.

A large man, his intentions of the best,

Stoops: Wheres Mummy, then?
Child backs away. Now the tall shelves threaten like a forest.
10 She toddles fast between them, starts to cry,
Takes the next aisle down and as her mother
Rounds one end disappears behind the other.
I catch the womans tired-eyed prettiness.
We smile, shake heads. The child comes back in sight,
15 Hurtles 5 to her laughing, hugs her knees:
Found you!, in such ringing pure delight
It fills the room, theres no one left whos reading.
The mother looks down, blinking. Great soft thing.
David Sutton

1. Give the rhyming pattern of the second stanza. _______________________

mark [

2. (a) Find and quote a simile in the second stanza.

_____________________________________________________________________
mark [

(b) Explain what the poet means by these words.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

Bobble cap: a cap with a woollen ball on top

Intent on: concentrating on
5 Hurtles: moving at great speed
4

3. Why do you think the poet gives very little detail about what the man looks like,
apart from the fact that he is large (line 7)?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

4. Which lines in the poem bring out a feeling of increasing panic? Lines ____________
1 mark [

5. Found you!, in such ringing pure delight

It fills the room, theres no one left whos reading. (line 16 17)
Why did the people in the room stop reading?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

The Great Hall

Now, form a line, Professor McGonagall told the first
years, and follow me.
Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry
got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Susan
behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back
across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the
Great Hall.
Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid
place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that
were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting.
These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was
another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years
up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers
behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the
flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty
silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black
ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, Its bewitched to look like the sky
outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History, which caused Harry to smirk, of course she
would know that.
It was hard to believe there was a ceiling at all, and that the Great Hall didnt simply open on
to the heavens. Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a
four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizards
7

hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Yet Harry couldnt help but
believe that this hat was immensely important. Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out
of it, Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing noticing that everyone in the hall
was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete
silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth and the hat
began to sing.
1. What narrative style is used in this extract? _________________________________
1 mark [

2. What is the genre of this text? __________________________________ 1 mark [

3. a. Find two adjectives used to describe the Great Hall.

i.

________________________

ii. ________________________
1 mark [

b. Explain why, in your opinion, these adjectives have been used by the author.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

4. Quote a simile and explain the comparison used.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

5. Quote a phrase which brings out a sense of astonishment.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

6. Quote a phrase which shows that Harry is trying to figure out what is going on.
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

7. Imagine you are Harry. How would you feel on your first day at Hogwarts? Why?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

Personification
Personification is when an inanimate (lifeless) object or an animal is given abilities or
characteristics which are usually only found in humans. If a poet describes animals as
doing things which only humans do e.g. play music, sail in boats, and so on, then that is
personification because they are made to appear like humans.

He who owns the Whistle, rules the World

january wind and the sun
playing truant again6.
Rain beginning to scratch
its fingernails across
the blackboard sky
in the playground
kids divebomb, corner
at silverstone7 or execute8
traitors. Armed with my whistle
I step outside,
Take a deep breath
And bring the world
To a standstill
Roger McGough

1. january wind and the sun

playing truant again.
a. What is this figure of speech called? _____________________

1 mark [

b. Complete the following sentence.

The poet compares the ___________________ and the
___________________ with ___________________ who are playing truant.
1 marks [

2. a. Quote another similar figure of speech from stanza one.

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

Playing truant: staying away from school for no good reason

Silverstone: a famous race track
8 Execute: put to death
7

b. Here the poet compares the sky to a _________________________.

mark [

3. Who do you think I is? What is he or she doing?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

Leisure
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beautys glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
W.H. Davies

1. Underline the correct answer.

The poem is about:
a. standing and staring.
b. how busy we are nowadays.
c. the beauty of nature.
d. the increase in leisure time.
1 mark [

2. Quote a simile from the poem and explain what the poet is trying to tell us.
Simile: _______________________________________________________________
10

Meaning: _____________________________________________________________
2 marks [

3. Why do you think Beauty (stanza 5) is spelt with a capital B?

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

4. What does her refer to in verse 12? Who is smiling?

____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

5. Write down the rhyme scheme of the poem.

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

6. Quote two examples of personification.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

7. What is the effect created by the repetition of the verse We have no time to stand
and stare?
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

11

Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one object is said to be another. It is not
COMPARED, but it is said to BE something else.
We have already seen metaphors in this pack, in fact. When we covered personification,
we were talking about metaphors, because PERSONIFICATION is a kind of METAPHOR.

A Poison Tree
I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I waterd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
And it grew both day and night.
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.
And into my garden stole,
When the night had veild the pole;
In the morning glad I see;
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
William Blake

1. This poem describes

a. the power of friendship
b. different feelings
c. how anger can ruin relationships
d. friends and enemies
1 mark [

2. Quote TWO words which refer to feelings.

a. ____________________

b. ____________________
1 mark [

12

3. Quote TWO words which refer to light.

a. ____________________

b. ____________________
1 mark [

4. Fill in the gaps with appropriate words.

And I watered it in fears
Night and morning with my tears,
And I sunned it with smiles
And with soft deceitful wiles.
In this poem, the poet compares anger to a 1) ____________________. This figure of
speech is called a 2) ____________________. The use of this figure of speech shows
how anger grows when it is 3) ____________________ and
4) ____________________ with fear and deceit.
2 marks [

5. What is the rhyme scheme of this poem? ___________________________________

1 mark [

6. I sunned it with smiles is a figure of speech called ___________________________

1 mark [

7. Why is the phrase I was angry repeated?

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

8. Why is this poem called A poison tree?

_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

13

Bonfire
Theres a great wild beast in my garden
roaring and surging,
grinding his fierce, gold teeth
under the trees
where the ground is crinkled and quilted
with last years leaf.
I can see his breath through the branches
floating and climbing
into the calm, cool sky,
and now and again
if I watch I can see him winking an angry eye.
Glinting and plunging he tears
old paper and boxes
and swallows them till
he is hungry no longer
but sleeps in a flutter of ashes,
his sharp tongues still.
Jean Kenward

1. What is the wild beast mentioned in the first line?

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

2. Quote 4 action words (verbs) that bring out the idea of violence in the poem.
a.

_____________________

c.

_____________________

b.

_____________________

d.

_____________________
2 marks [

3. Why are the beasts teeth described as gold teeth in line 3?

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

4. (i) Give two examples of personification from the second stanza.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
(ii) Explain what the poet wants us to imagine through each personification.
_____________________________________________________________________
14

_____________________________________________________________________
4 marks [

5. Write 4 sentences to explain what the poem is about.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

A most ungracious welcome

The night had begun to fall as I got close; and in three of the lower windows, which were
very high up and narrow, and well barred, the changing light of a little fire began to
glimmer. Was this the place I had been coming to? Was it within these walls that I was to
seek new friends and begin great fortunes?
The door, as well as I could see it in the dim light, was a
great piece of wood all studded with nails; and I lifted
my hand with a faint heart under my jacket, and
knocked once. Then I stood and waited. The house had
fallen into a dead silence; a whole minute passed away,
and nothing stirred but the bats overhead. I knocked
again, and hearkened9 again. By this time my ears had
grown so accustomed to the quiet, that I could hear the
ticking of the clock inside as it slowly counted out the
seconds; but whoever was in that house kept deadly
still, and must have held his breath.
I was in two minds whether to run away; but anger got
the upper hand, and I began instead to rain kicks on the
door, and to shout out aloud for Mr Balfour. I was in full
career, when I heard the cough right overhead, and
jumping back and looking up, beheld10 a mans head in
a tall nightcap, and the bell mouth of a blunderbuss 11, at one of the first-storey windows.
Its loaded, said a voice.
(Adapted from Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Hearkened: listened
Beheld: saw
11 Blunderbuss: a kind of primitive rifle
10

15

1. Fill in the blanks. Choose the correct words from the box.
I

flashback

fiction

novel

character

monologue

effect

fun

ending

first-person

Kidnapped is the title of a a ________________________ written by Robert Louis

Stevenson and it is not a real story, so it is called b ________________________. This
is a c ________________________ narrative because it is told from the narrators
point of view and the pronoun d _________________ is used. This kind of narrative
helps the readers sympathise with the narrators e ________________________
more closely.
2 marks [

2. Underline TWO correct answers.

In this passage the narrator feels
a. sad

b. delighted

c. scared

d. amazed

e. depressed

f. angry
1 mark [

3. Mention TWO things from the first paragraph which create a sense of danger.
a. _____________________________
b. _____________________________
2 marks [

4. Quote a metaphor from the second paragraph which helps us understand how the
boy was feeling.
_____________________________________________________________________
mark [

5. List FOUR points mentioned in the second paragraph that help to emphasise the
silence.
a. ________________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________________
d. ________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

6. Quote TWO short phrases that describe the boys shock and surprise.
a. _____________________________
16

b. _____________________________
1 mark [

7. What is the effect at the end?

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

Approaching Draculas castle

I looked up at the high castle walls. There were no lights in any
of the windows. In front of me was a great wooden door.
As I stood there, I heard the door being unlocked. It opened
slowly. A very tall, old man was standing there. He held a lamp
in his hand. His hair and face were white and he was dressed
in black. He held his lamp up high and said, Welcome to my
home. Enter Castle Dracula, Mr Harker. As I stepped inside,
Count Dracula took hold of my arm. He was terribly strong and
his hand was cold as ice. The count locked the door carefully
and put the keys into his pocket. I followed him down long
passages and up winding stairs. I walked like a man in a
dream. At last, the Count opened a door and led me into a
room without windows. I could see two open doors. Through one door, I could see a
bedroom. Through the other door, I could see food and drink on a table.
When you are ready, my dear friend, the Count said, I shall be waiting for you. In a few
minutes, I was sitting at the table. I was very hungry. The Count told me he had already
eaten. Later, we sat together near the fire. The Count spoke good English and he asked me
many questions. I was tired and I began to feel very ill. The castle was completely silent. But
outside the wolves were howling. Can you hear the children of the night? the Count said
quietly. Listen to their music!
(Adapted from Dracula by Bram Stoker)

1. In the first two paragraphs, what indicates that this took place after the sun had set?
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

2. Which figure of speech are the phrases was cold as ice and walked like a man in
dream?
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

3. Explain the meaning of the two phrases in no. 2.

_____________________________________________________________________

17

_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

4. Write two adjectives to describe the atmosphere in this text.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

5. What contrast of sound do we find in the last paragraph?

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

6. (i) To what does Count Dracula compare wolves?

_____________________________________________________________________
(ii) What figure of speech is this?
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

18

Onomatopoeia
Words which have a similar SOUND to the sound they are describing, such as SPLASH,
SQUEAK, CREAK or BANG. Read the poem The Sound Collector, and underline all the
examples of onomatopoeia in it. Be careful: some words look like they are
onomatopoeic, but are not.

The Sound Collector

A stranger called this morning
Dressed all in black and grey
Put every sound into a bag
And carried them away
The whistling of the kettle
The turning of the lock
The purring of the kitten
The ticking of the clock
The popping of the toaster
The crunching of the flakes
When you spread the marmalade
The scraping noise it makes
The hissing of the frying-pan
The ticking of the grill
The bubbling of the bathtub
As it starts to fill
The drumming of the raindrops
On the window-pane
When you do the washing up
The gurgle of the drain
The crying of the baby
The squeaking of the chairs
The swishing of the curtains
The creaking of the stairs
A stranger called this morning
He didnt leave his name
Left us only silence
Life will never be the same.
Roger McGough

19

The Cliff-tops
The cliff-top has a carpet
Of lilac, gold and green:
The blue sky bounds the ocean,
The white clouds scud between.
A flock of gulls are wheeling
And wailing round my seat;
Above my head the heaven,
The sea beneath my feet.
Robert Bridges

1.

Underline the correct answer:

a. The Cliff-tops is
(i) a descriptive and imaginative poem.
(ii) a fantasy poem for children.
(iii) a narrative poem.
(iv) about the fear of heights.
b. The atmosphere is
(i) thrilling and exciting.
(ii) heavy with tension.
(iii) light and cheerful.
(iv) calm and happy.
c. In this poem
(i) the first and last lines rhyme.
(ii) there is no rhyme.
(iii) the second and third lines rhyme.
(iv) the second and fourth lines rhyme.
3 marks [

2.

a. What do you think the carpet refers to in the first line of the poem?
____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

b. What is the figure of speech used in this comparison?

____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

20

3.

In the first stanza the poet paints a picture of the scene on the cliff-top. How does
he do this?
____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

4.

a. The poem helps us to imagine the sounds and movements made by the sea gulls.
Quote the lines where these are described.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

b. What is the figure of speech being used here?

____________________________________________________________________
mark [

c. Comment on the effect of these lines.

____________________________________________________________________
mark [

5.

a. Where is the speaker seated?

____________________________________________________________________
mark [

b. Refer to the last two lines and comment on the speakers feelings and
sensations.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

Danger on the ice

Rip glanced from side to side as he skated down
the river. He saw the grey, gaunt shapes of several
wolves slinking among the trees. Out of the woods
they came and on to the ice. One, bolder than the
others, suddenly leaped from among the rest and
shot across in front of him, its jaws snapping
wickedly as it narrowly missed him. This incident
seemed to give him added strength, and he flung
every ounce of energy into his effort to escape. He
could hear the wolves howls and yelps of
21

excitement. With gasping breath and pounding heart the boy skated as he had never skated
before.
After some considerable distance, with the wolves still close in pursuit, the boy felt that he
was beginning to tire. It was the first time that year that he had used skates, and his muscles
were aching with the unaccustomed exercise. His pace became slower, but still he managed
to keep slightly ahead of the snarling wolves. As the boy raced over the ice he thought to
himself that it was just a matter of time until the pursuing pack overtook him.
All at once he heard a sound which caused him to gasp the thunder of falling water. Rip
then realised that he was approaching the high river falls. Over a sheer cliff of nearly a
hundred feet they fell, and apparently the frost had not been severe enough to freeze them.
Suddenly an idea struck him
(Adapted from Let her Rip by Arthur Minter)

1. What shows that this story took place in winter?

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

2. He saw the grey, gaunt shapes of several wolves slinking among the trees. In what
way does the word gaunt help us understand the reason for which the wolves
were running after Rip?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

3. Quote a phrase that shows sound and movement made by a wolf during an attack.
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

4. Quote a phrase that shows Rips fear.

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

5. Quote two contrasting sentences showing hope and desperation felt by the boy
during his escape.
Sentence (a):
_____________________________________________________________________
Sentence (b):
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

22

6. Quote four examples of onomatopoeic words in the passage.

a. _________________
b. _________________
c. _________________
d. _________________
2 marks [

7. What kind of idea do you think came to Rip as soon as he saw the river falls?
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

23

Alliteration
This is the repetition of a CONSONANT SOUND at the BEGINNING of two or more words
in the same LINE (normally of a poem, but possibly also in prose).
Can you find the alliteration in this line from The Sound Collector?
The bubbling of the bathtub
Have a look at the words in the first line of the poem below.

Moths and Moonshine

Moths and moonshine mean to me
Magic madness mystery.
Witches dancing weird and wild
Mischief make for man and child.
Owls screech from woodland shades,
Moths glide through moonlit glades
Moving in dark and secret ways
Like a plotter in disguise.
Moths and moonshine mean to me
Magic madness mystery.
James Reeves

1. Name the figure of speech used in the first line of the poem.
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

2. Find an onomatopoeia from the poem.

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

3. Give the rhyme scheme of lines 1-6. _______________________________________

1 mark [

4. Like a plotter in disguise.

The figure of speech used in the above line is ________________________________
1 mark [

5. Who is the plotter? ___________________________________________________

2 marks [

24

6. Find TWO words that show the movement of the moths.

a. _________________________
b. _________________________
2 marks [

7. In your opinion, how does the poet make the poem mysterious?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

A meeting by the sea

Hold your noise! cried a terrible voice. Keep still, you little devil, or Ill cut your throat!
A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with
broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in
water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles,
and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth
chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.
O! Dont cut my throat, sir, I pleaded in terror. Pray dont do it, sir.
Tell us your name! said the man. Quick!
Pip, sir.
Once more, said the man, staring at me.
Give it mouth!
Pip. Pip, sir.
Show us where you live, said the man. Point out
the place!
I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the alder-trees and pollards, a
mile or more from the church. The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me
upside down, and emptied my pockets. There was nothing in them but a piece of bread,
which he snatched.
(Adapted from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)

1. Quote two words which show that Pip was scared of the man.
a. ____________________________
b. ____________________________
1 mark [

25

2. Quote two words which show that the man was injured.
a. ____________________________
b. ____________________________
2 marks [

3. Underline the correct answer: glared and growled in paragraph 2 is an example of

a. simile

b. personification

c. alliteration
2 marks [

4. Quote one word which shows the man was feeling cold. _______________________
1 mark [

5. Match the words in column A with the meanings in column B.

A

a) smothered

i.

a kind of tree

b) coarse

ii.

something which is rough

and not even

c) snatched

iii.

to take something from

someone angrily

d) pollards

iv.

covered in something from

head to foot
4 marks [

26

Frog

10

15

20

25

30

Under the bushes

sleek and slim
theres a middling frog.
I look for him
carefully, turning
stone by stone;
often I find him
quite alone
where the grass is specially
sharp and thin,
and the tangled ivy
closes in,
and the world is shadowed
in green and grey
He hasnt got anything
much to say,
but his throat moves silently
as though
there were something I certainly
ought to know;
then he flicks his tongue
like a needle, where
the small gnats twirl
in the misty air.
He sometimes jumps.
He sometimes goes
wimbling wambling
I suppose
a frog is a slithery
thing to be.
I wonder whatever
he thinks of ME?
Jean Kenward

1. Find an example of:

a. simile: _________________________________________________________
b. alliteration: _____________________________________________________
2 marks [

2. What effect does the poet wish to create with the words wimbling wambling (line
27)?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

27

3. What picture does the poet wish to create in our mind with the following words:
and the world is shadowed in green and grey (lines 13 -14)?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

4. Most of the poem is made up of long sentences, except for line 25, He sometimes
jumps. What is the effect created by this short sentence?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

5. Do you like the way the poet ended the poem? Answer the question by referring to
the last two lines of the poem.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

Circus
Saucer of sand, the circus ring,
A cup of light, clowns tumbling.
Horses with white manes sleek and streaming,
Bits jingling, tinkling, silk skins gleaming.
But there, shut in their iron cage,
Sulky, drowsy, dulled by rage
The lions beg or trot or leap,
And cringe like beaten dogs, and creep,
King beasts, who should be free to run
Through forests striped with shade and sun,
With fierce, proud eyes and manes like fire.
These manes hang dull like rusty wire.
And when the trainer cracks his whip
They snarl and curl a sullen lip,
And only in their dreams are free
To crush and kill mans cruelty.
Margaret Stanley-Wrench

28

1. Saucer of sand (line 1)

(i) name the figure of speech:
__________________________________________________
(ii) explain what the poet wants us to imagine through these words.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

2. Describe the rhyme scheme in the poem. ___________________________________

1 mark [

3. From stanzas 2 to 4, find an example of:

(ii)

alliteration: _____________________________________________________

(iii)

onomatopoeia: __________________________________________________

(iv)

simile: _________________________________________________________
3 marks [

4. In your opinion, what does the poet think about keeping lions in cages and training
them to perform in a circus?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

5. What does the last stanza tell us about the way the lions feel?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

29

School Dinners
The greater-spotted brown baked beans
not quite the humble bird it seems;
it lurks beneath the soggy greens
waiting to get you.
The green unruly jumping pea
has no respect for you and me;
its bound to land on misss knee
and shell get you.
The brown-backed flying liverslug
is little better than a thug;
you think youre safe dont be too smug
hell get you.
The quiet skulking greasychip
looks innocent thats just his trick;
eat thirds or fourths and youll be sick
hell get you.
The many-fingered crumb-y fish
Looks friendly, as you might well wish;
but leave him lying on your dish
hell get you.
Judith Nicholls

1. Upon reading the poem, how do you think the poet feels towards the schools
dinners, and what indicates this?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

2. What is the rhyming scheme of the first two stanzas? _________________________

1 marks [

3. A figure of speech runs throughout the poem.

a. Which type of figure of speech is it? _________________________________
b. What is its effect? ________________________________________________
2 marks [

4. From the poem find and quote:

a. an alliteration ___________________________________________________
b. a metaphor _____________________________________________________
2 marks [

30

5. What is the mood/tone of this poem? What shows this tone?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

6. What are your reactions to this poem? Explain your answer.

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

Harrys eleventh birthday

It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind
whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle
Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.
The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps
in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.
Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas. He tried to
start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shrivelled up.
"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.
He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them
here in a storm to deliver mail. Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him
up at all.
As night fell, the promised storm blew up around
them. Spray from the high waves splattered the
walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the
filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few
mouldy blankets in the second room and made
up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She
and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed
next door, and Harry was left to find the softest
bit of floor he could and to curl up under the
thinnest, most ragged blanket.
The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He
shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger.
Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The
lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist,
told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer,
wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was
now.
31

Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to
fall in, although he might be warmer if it did. Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet
Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow.
Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two
minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?
One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds... twenty ... ten... nine -- maybe he'd
wake Dudley up, just to annoy him -- three... two... one...
BOOM.
The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was
outside, knocking to come in.
(From Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling)
1. Fill in the gaps with an appropriate word.
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone is the title of a 1) _________________
written by J.K Rowling and it is not a real story so it is called 2)____________. This is
a 3)_______-person narrative because it is told from the authors point of view. This
kind of narrative helps the readers understand the 4)__________ more clearly.
2 marks [

2. Underline TWO correct answers.

In this passage Harry feels:
a. sad

b. delighted

c. amazed

d. depressed

e. angry
1 mark [

1 mark [

3. Quote TWO words or phrases which refer to sounds.

a. _____________________________
b. _____________________________
4. Quote TWO words or phrases which tell us that it wasnt nice to stay in the house.
a. _____________________________
b. _____________________________
1 mark [

5. What figure of speech is used in the phrase wind whistled?

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

32

6. Find an example of alliteration.

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

7. Find an example of personification and explain why it is so effective.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

8.

Copy a short phrase that describes Harrys shock and surprise in the end.
__________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

33

Further practice
Make Believe
When I wake up in the morning
Not all is what it seems
I drift through a world of make believe
Between my real life and my dreams.
Strange adventures from the Space book
That I read the night before
Crowd in upon my drowsiness
Though imaginations door.
Between sleeping and waking
The alarm clocks jangling cry
Becomes the roaring fire-tailed rocket
That hurls me through the sky.
My beds a silver space craft
Which I pilot all alone
Whispring through endless stratospheres
Towards planets still unknown.
Outside through the mists of morning
The spinning lights of cars
In my make-believe space voyage
Become eternities of stars.
If I make believe my ceiling
Is space through which I fly,
If I make believe my bedroom
Is my capsule flying high,
If I make believe the light bulb
Is the moon fast drawing nigh,
If I make believe my counterpane12
Is its cratered surface dry,
Then thats what it is,
Thats what it is for me
Thats what it is, thats what it is
Thats what it is for me.
(an extract from the poem Make Believe by G. Owen)

1. What is the rhyme scheme of the first stanza? _______________________________

1 mark [

12

Counterpane: bedspread

34

2. From stanzas 2 4, find an example of:

a. onomatopoeia: __________________________________________________
b. personification: __________________________________________________
c. metaphor: ______________________________________________________
d. alliteration: _____________________________________________________
2 marks [

3. What do the following become in the narrators imagination?

a. the sound of the alarm clock: _______________________________________
b. the lights of cars outside: __________________________________________
c. the bedroom: ___________________________________________________
d. the light bulb: ___________________________________________________
2 marks [

4. In the childs imagination, the counterpane becomes the moons cratered surface
dry (stanza 6). In what way do you think this is appropriate?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

5. What does the poem show us of the narrators

a. character: ______________________________________________________
b. interests: _______________________________________________________
2 marks [

6. Explain what the poet means by the last 4 lines of the poem.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

35

The night-terror
It was full moon. Below, the village was asleep and in darkness. The
river, as it snaked through the valley with the pale and greasy ghost
of mist oozing from it, was still. Suddenly the pine trees shuddered,
and the weird and lonely shriek of an owl shattered the silence.
Somewhere a melancholy dog mourned his master.
Dick shivered, and going inside shut the door. The fire was
smouldering. He threw on a lump of coal, and it spluttered, then
twinkled and blazed up. The dog stirred. Dick sighed. Silence, neverending silence; then faintly, definitely, a noise; the wind whispering
to the pines, or someone whistling?
Dick listened. The moon slid behind a cloud, and glided out again. Tonight s he seemed
almost too bright; no longer a sickly, sleazy, sliver of melon, but something terrifyingly real.
The whistling was coming nearer. The tune was Greensleeves, not pleasantly, plaintively
simple, but menacingly, mercilessly macabre. The dog whimpered uneasily in his sleep. Dick
shuddered.
Nearer, nearer; the dog barked, the gate squeaked, the path crunched, the door-knocker
banged. Silence. The handle creaked and turned. The door jerked open
R. Goudy

1. Underline the correct answers.

a. This passage is taken from
i. a biography.
ii. a thriller adventure.
iii. a romance.
iv. a historical novel.
b. The first paragraph describes
i. a wild stormy night.
ii. a calm pleasant night.
iii. a horrifying night.
iv. a spooky night.
c. When you read the passage,
i. you feel suspense and curiosity.
ii. you feel horrified.
iii. you feel sympathetic and sad.
iv. you understand the boys anger.
1 marks [

36

2. a. Underline one metaphor in the following sentence:

The river, as it snaked through the valley with the pale and greasy ghost of mist
oozing from it, was still.
1 mark [

b. Comment on the meaning of the metaphor.

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

3. a. Quote an alliteration from the passage. ___________________________________

1 mark [

b. What is the effect of the sounds being described on the atmosphere of the story?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

4. a. Give two examples of personification from the passage.

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

b. Choose one personification and comment on its meaning.

___________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

5. Apart from describing the sounds in detail, how does the writer use sentences to
create a special effect in the passage? What is the effect?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
1 marks [

37

Ocean is as one with the world

As I stare out into the sea,
I can feel the soft oceans breeze
the warmth from the sun
the grass dances with the whistling wind
the ocean is filled with thoughts
and mysteries,
I feel the cool water
the ocean is alive filled with lost souls
washing emotions up onto the shore
My feet sink in the softness of the sand
The ocean is made up of dreams
and achievements,
My mind lies in the heart of the ocean
The rocks are bones
Out in the open the waves settle and
wait for their attack,
I feel as one with the ocean
as the ocean feels like one
with the world.
Izabelle Sheridan

1. Describe what the poem is about.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

2. Whistling wind is an example of a/an: (Underline the correct answer)

a.

simile

b.

onomatopoeia

c.

alliteration
2 marks [

3. Copy TWO personifications found in this poem.

a. _______________________________________________________________
b. _______________________________________________________________
2 marks [

4. In which part of the ocean do the waves settle?

_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

38

5. Why do you think that the speaker feels one with the ocean?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2 marks [

6. Quote ONE way to describe the oceans sentiment in this poem.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

The wizards apprentice

IZZY WIZZY is training to become a wizard. His master, a wizard, has left him alone with
another student, Toad.
IZZY WIZZY: (Whispering.) Toad? Toad? Has he gone? (Breathing a sigh of relief.) Oh, I am
glad. Thank you for covering for me. If our master had found out it was me who put the treacle
in the pig potion, he'd have turned me into a frog. Or a toad, like you. (Laughing.) It was funny
though, wasn't it? How was I to know what would happen? I had just the tiniest taste of the
pig potion and it was yuk. Absolutely Eeeergh. Completely blurrrh. I thought, 'This won't do.
Nobody's going to drink this.' So I poured in half a tin of treacle. Who'd have thought it would
make the pigs blow up like balloons, turn blue with yellow spots and float away out of the pig
pen?
Toad, if only our master would let me learn proper magic out of his big black book, that sort
of thing wouldn't happen, would it? I'd know what to expect. I mean, how hard can doing
magic be? You've only got to pick the right-sized wand, read the right words out of the book
and wave your hands about a bit. Anybody could do it.
What?
(Giggling.) No, we mustn't. We'll get into terrible trouble if he finds out. Do you really think
we could? Oooh, how exciting. How thrilling. How jambamfantabulosible! Let's do it. Let's do
a spell, our very own spell. Where's the big black book? Where's he hidden it? Hop over there
and find it, Toad, while I get the wand.
(Adapted from Simon Parkers Izzy Wizzy Gets Busy)
1. What impression do you form of the narrators and Toads character?
a. The narrator:
_______________________________________________________________
39

_______________________________________________________________
b. Toad:
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
4 marks [

2. This speech is a monologue. Why do you think Toad does not speak?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

3. Izzy Wizzy uses a number of words which are not really English words.
a. yuk. Absolutely Eeeergh. Completely blurrrh. (par. 1)
b. How jambamfantabulosible! (par. 3)
What feelings are expressed by the use of these made-up words?
a. _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
b. _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
4 marks [

4. Quote a word from the last paragraph that shows how the actor playing the part of
Toad has to move around the stage.
_____________________________________________________________________
1 mark [

40