Engaging extracts are selected from classic literature, modern contemporary pieces, non-fiction and poetry. These are presented with realistic exam-style multiple-choice options which develop and strengthen contextual vocabulary, personal opinions, inference and verbal agility.Tips and hints are provided throughout.
Here is the perfect resource to prepare for the CEM 11+ and Common Pre-Test exams:
• improve comprehension skills in both contemporary and classic literature
• sharpen critical thinking and develop strong inference and deduction skills
• recognise and become familiar with crucial question types
• learn how best to manage time efficiently
• practise the techniques to build vocabulary, comprehension and confidence
The Author
Teachitright is an established tuition group for 11+ grammar school exams, as well as those for Common Pre-Tests for independent schools, with 12 specialist centres across three counties. Boasting an enviable success rate, Teachitright 11+ tutors have built up a vast knowledge of the various and ever-changing requirements for 11+, especially with the new CEM-style exams.
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Fully classroom tested by
Workbook 1
V E R B A L A B I L I T Y F O R C E M
1 1 + C O M P R E H E N S I O N S W O R K B O O K 1 Fully classroom tested by Teachitright pupils and approved by parents
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Copyright info
Authors
First published in Great Britain in 2017 by
The University of Buckingham Press Yeomanry House Hunter Street Buckingham MK18 1EG
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publisher nor may be circulated in any form of binding or cover other than the one in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available at the British Library.
ISBN 9781908684707
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Teachitright
Teachitright is one of the most successful 11+ tuition companies in the South-east. In the last 10 years we’ve supported thousands of pupils for both grammar school and independent school entry. We have 12 tuition centres across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Surrey.
Based on our considerable experience and knowledge, we have produced a range of books that will help support your child through their 11+ journey in both CEM style and traditional 11+ tests and many Common Entrance exams. Our books, written by qualified teachers, have been classroom tested with pupils and adapted to ensure children are fully prepared and able to perform to the best of their ability.
Our unique mascot, Billy the Bookworm, will help guide children through the book and gives helpful hints and tips throughout.
We hope you find this book very useful and informative and wish you luck on your 11+ Journey.
Teachitright holds a number of comprehensive revision courses and mock exams throughout the year. If you would like to find out more information, please visit
www.teachitright.com
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How to use this book
This book uses a variety of different types of questions and these are outlined in the table below.
Type of question How to locate the answer Factual questions These questions require the answer to be
extracted directly from the text. Inference questions The answer will not be stated directly in the
passage but can be solved by using clues in the extract. This involves reading between the lines.
Personal opinion questions Using evidence in the extract, you can form a personal judgement and opinion about the text.
Knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and literacy devices (e.g. alliterations)
These questions require a good knowledge of vocabulary and will not be stated directly in the text.
Use the 5 steps below to work through each comprehension exercise:
(1) Read the passage first and try to comprehend what the text is saying.
(2) Do not skim-read as you might miss important parts and often links between the concepts need to be made.
(3) Underlining keywords or phrases can help you understand the passage and retain the important points. Do not underline everything in the extract as this might slow you down.
(4) After thoroughly reading the text, move on to the questions and refer back to the text to help you discover the answers. If given, use the line references to help you refer back to the relevant places in the passage.
(5) Always double check all the questions have been attempted and if time allows go back and read the passage for a second time.
Useful Comprehension tips and hints
Billy will provide useful hints and tips throughout this book. Read these carefully before tackling the comprehensions as they can help improve your skills.
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How to use this book
All the questions in this comprehension book are multiple choice and a horizontal line is used to show all the answers.
Billy’s Vocabulary Pages
Billy the bookworm is here again to provide some fun activities after every comprehension. These additional pages will help you enhance your vocabulary and build on the skills already acquired during the comprehension exercise. The answers for these exciting pages are given at the back of the book in the ‘Answers’ section.
Mark scheme and recording results
The answers for all the comprehension questions are at the back of the book in the ‘Answers’ section. Each answer provides the correct letter choice and a detailed explanation on how each question can be solved.
To help you keep a track of your progress a ‘Marking chart’ on page 92 is provided at the back of the book for each comprehension. A ‘Progress Grid’ on page 93 can be shaded in to help you see progress and keep a record of the results achieved. A series of statements are written on this page to help identify the next steps.
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BLANK PAGE
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SECTION 1: COMPREHENSIONS
1. Alice in Wonderland 9 Billy’s Perfect Pronouns 15 2. Dragons 16 Billy’s Amazing Adjectives 22 3. Weathers 23 Billy’s Robust Rhymes 28 4. The Merchant of Venice 29 Billy’s Synonymous Shakespeare 33 5. Treasure Island 34 Billy’s Awesome Adverbs 40 6. Anne of Green Gables 41 Billy’s Rigorous Reporting Clauses 47 7. Oliver Twist 48 Billy’s Clever Commas 54 8. Coming to America 55 Billy’s Exciting Emotions 61 9. You are old, Father William 62 Billy’s Special Speech Marks 67 10. A Midsummer Night’s Dream 68 Billy’s Shakespearean Synonyms 73
SECTION 2: ANSWERS
Contents
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Comprehensions 1
1. ALICE IN WONDERLAND 15 MINS
Alice has found herself in the home of the Duchess who has a remarkable baby.
“Here! You may nurse it a bit, if you like!” the Duchess said to Alice, flinging the baby at her as she spoke. “I must go and get ready to play croquet with the Queen,” and she hurried out of the room. The cook threw a frying-pan after her as she went out, but it just missed her.
Alice caught the baby with some difficulty, as it was a queer-shaped little creature, and held out its arms and legs in all directions, “just like a starfish,” thought Alice. The poor little thing was snorting like a steam-engine when she caught it, and kept doubling itself up and straightening itself out again, so that altogether, for the first minute or two, it was as much as she could do to hold it.
As soon as she had made out the proper way of nursing it (which was to twist it up into a sort of knot, and then keep tight hold of its right ear and left foot, so as to prevent its undoing itself), she carried it out into the open air. “If I don’t take this child away with me,” thought Alice, “they’re sure to kill it in a day or two: wouldn’t it be murder to leave it behind?” She said the last words out loud, and the little thing grunted in reply (it had left off sneezing by this time). “Don’t grunt,” said Alice, “that’s not at all a proper way of expressing yourself.”
The baby grunted again, and Alice looked very anxiously into its face to see what was the matter with it. There could be no doubt that it had a very turn-up nose, much more like a snout than a real nose; also its eyes were getting extremely small for a baby: altogether Alice did not like the look of the thing at all. “But perhaps it was only sobbing,” she thought, and looked into its eyes again, to see if there were any tears.
No, there were no tears. “If you’re going to turn into a pig, my dear,” said Alice, seriously, “I’ll have nothing more to do with you. Mind now!” The poor little thing sobbed again (or grunted, it was impossible to say which), and they went on for some while in silence. Alice was just beginning to think to herself, “Now, what am I to do with this creature when I get it home?”, when it grunted again, so violently, that she looked down into its face in some alarm. This time there could be no mistake about it: it was neither more nor less than a pig, and she felt that it would be quite absurd for her to carry it further. So she set the little creature down, and felt quite relieved to see it trot away quietly into the wood. “If it had grown up,” she said to herself, “it would have made a dreadfully ugly child: but it makes rather a handsome pig, I think.” And she began thinking over other children she knew, who might do very well as pigs, and was just saying to herself, “If one only knew the right way to change them”, when she was a little startled by seeing the Cheshire Cat sitting on a bough of a tree a few yards off.
The Cat only grinned when it saw Alice. It looked good-natured, she thought: still it had very long claws and a great many teeth, so she felt that it ought to be treated with respect.
1 2 3 4
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
35
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“Cheshire Puss,” she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. “Come, it’s pleased so far,” thought Alice, and she went on. “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where—” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“—so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
40 31 42
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1. ALICE IN WONDERLAND QUESTIONS
1) Why did the Duchess give Alice the baby to nurse? A She was afraid the cook would hurt the baby. B She wanted to go and get ready for a game of croquet. C She was in a hurry to leave the room. D She couldn’t keep hold of the baby’s arms and legs. E The Queen had ordered her to leave the room at once.
2) “The poor little thing was snorting like a steam engine”. (line 7) Which of the following literary devices are used here? i. onomatopoeia ii. simile iii. personification iv. alliteration A 1 and 2 B 2 and 4 C 2 and 3 D 3 and 4 E All of the above 3) Why did Alice “set the little creature down”? (line 29) A She didn’t want any more to do with the little creature. B The creature was wriggling too much for her to hold it. C It was so obviously a pig it would be ridiculous to treat it as a baby. D The creature was making too much noise. E It was too ugly for her to believe it was a baby any more.
4) How did Alice feel as she carried the baby into the open air? A Angry that the Duchess had thrown the baby at her B Confused as to how to hold the baby C Concerned about what was happening to the baby D Excited to have a baby to care for E Worried that she would be responsible for the baby’s death if she didn’t take it away 5) Why did Alice describe the baby as “just like a starfish”? (line 6) A Its limbs were protruding everywhere. B It was the shape of a starfish. C Alice wasn’t sure what the baby was turning into. D The cook had been preparing fish. E The baby was slippery like a starfish.
6) What is the best synonym for “flinging”? (line 1) A Dancing B Shooting C Flying D Throwing E Rolling
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7) Why did Alice go to the home of the Duchess? A To look after the baby B To meet the Duchess C To play croquet D To find out how to get back home E The text doesn’t say
8) What is the meaning of the phrase “neither more nor less than a pig”? (line 27) A The baby was more like a pig than before. B The baby was less like a pig than it had been. C The baby had completed its transformation into a pig. D Alice wasn’t sure what was happening to the baby. E It was no longer a baby or a pig
9) “Alice did not like the look of the thing at all”? (line 20) Which part of this sentence is the object of the sentence? A The thing B Alice C the look D Like E At all
10) Why did Alice look into the baby’s eyes? A Alice was anxious to find out what the matter was. B She wanted to see if its eyes were getting smaller. C Alice was wondering why the baby was sneezing. D She was looking for evidence that the creature was human. E The baby’s eyes had changed colour.
11) Which of the following best describes Alice’s encounter with the baby? 1. Humorous 2. Shocking 3. Realistic 4. Fantasy A 1 and 2 B 1 and 4 C 2 and 3 D 1 and 3 E 3 and 4
12) Why was Alice relieved when the pig trots into the wood? A She was fed up with nursing it. B She thought it had become a good looking pig. C She was pleased to see the back of the creature. D She wanted to go home. E She had noticed the Cheshire Cat.
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13) Where did Alice see the Cheshire Cat? A Sitting on the path B Curled up in a hollow tree C Among the leaves of a bush D Perched on the branch of a tree E Grinning on a tree stump
14) Why did Alice feel timid when she spoke to the cat? A She was afraid of his long claws. B She didn’t know if he would understand her. C She found that the cat was good natured. D She felt she should treat it with respect. E She wasn’t sure the cat would like what she called it.
15) What is the best definition for “handsome”? (line 31) A Nimble B Good looking C Large D Well dressed E Four legged
16) What did Alice want to find out from the cat? A How far was the rabbit hole? B Where the pig was going? C Whether the cat was pleased with her? D Which direction she should travel in next? E How he had appeared in the tree?
17) What is the best antonym for the word “pleased”? (line 39) A Thank you B Contented C Dissatisfied D Unhelpful E Depressed
18) Where does most of the action take place in this part of the story? A In a dark wood near a path B Beside a path under a tree C Under a tree near a house D Outside a house by a wood E In a house under a tree
19) What type of writing is this passage? A First person narrative B First person report C Third person narrative D Third person report E None of the above
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20) Who do you think this passage is written for? A Children B Babies C Teenagers D Adults E Elderly people
Remember the answers are always in the text!
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BILLY’S PERFECT PRONOUNS
Throughout Alice in Wonderland there are lots of pronouns. Pronouns are used to replace either a proper noun or a common noun.
Can you fill in the blanks in the sentences below with the correct pronoun from the passage?
She her you I herself yourself
1) _________ must go and get ready to play croquet with the Queen.
2) “Would _________ tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
3) _________ said the last words out loud, and the little thing grunted in reply.
4) “That’s not at all a proper way of expressing _________ .”
5) Alice was just beginning to think to _________ , “Now what am I to do with this creature when I get it home?”
6) The cook threw a frying-pan after her as she went out, but it just missed _________.
______________________________________________________
We use pronouns so that we don’t need to keep repeating the same noun.
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