ABC Education · 11+ Practice
Week 42 · English Practice Paper
Reading: 25 marks · Writing: 25 marks · Suggested time: 1 hour 20 minutes.
Reading Passage
The passage below is an original essay written for this practice paper, reflecting on a stretch of high moorland. Read it carefully, then answer ALL 25 multiple-choice questions in Sections A, B and C.
The Silence
Where does the hillside end and the sky begin? On the high moor, especially towards evening, the boundary is impossible to fix. The ground rises steadily until grass gives way to heather, then to bare rock and drifting mist, and at some point that no map can quite mark, land becomes weather. It is a place still largely unmapped in any way that matters, walked by few and properly known by fewer.
There is a stretch of high ground here, some way north of the last farm track, that walkers call the Silence — not because it is quiet (the wind rarely allows that) but because voices seem to travel nowhere across it, swallowed almost as soon as they are spoken. Sheep are lost here every winter, and are sometimes not found again until the following spring, when the snow finally releases what it has been holding. Local shepherds still speak of the year an entire flock vanished overnight into a fold of mist and was never accounted for.
This uncertain territory has always unsettled people more than open danger would. A cliff edge announces itself; you can measure the drop and step back from it. But the moor's threat is patient and diffuse: a change of visibility, a broken ankle two miles from the nearest track, a compass needle that seems, in low cloud, to wander of its own accord. For centuries this land was considered next to worthless, too wet and too high to farm, and so it was left alone — and being left alone, it grew a reputation of its own.
There is a story, retold in every farmhouse for three parishes around, of a packhorse train that set out to cross the moor before a storm and was never seen again, though a bell from one of the horses is still said to be heard, faintly, on certain still nights. Whether or not the story is true hardly matters: what matters is that the moor gives shape to a fear that predates it — the fear of moving through a landscape that offers no fixed points, no walls, no paths that stay where you left them once the weather closes in.
A fogbound summit is the moor at its most itself. To be caught there is to lose, all at once, the horizon, the path, and any sense of distance travelled. Experienced walkers know to stop rather than to guess; the moor does not reward confidence. But even at midday, in clear weather, with the whole valley laid out below, it is possible to feel a kind of unease standing at the highest point, aware of how little difference there truly is between where the hill ends and where the empty sky takes over.
Section A: Reading
Question 1
[1 marks]In paragraph 1, the boundary between land and sky is described as 'impossible to fix' because: a) there is no path up the hill b) the transition from grass to heather to mist happens so gradually that no exact point can be identified c) the map has been lost d) the ground is too dangerous to walk on e) the sky is always cloudy
Question 2
[1 marks]Paragraph 1 tells us that: a) the moor is well known to walkers b) the moor is largely unmapped and unfamiliar even to those who visit it c) the moor has recently been surveyed d) the moor is a popular tourist destination e) the moor is owned privately
Question 3
[1 marks]Paragraph 2 tells us that the area called 'the Silence' is named this because: a) it is completely free of wind b) sound seems to disappear across it rather than carry c) nobody is allowed to speak there d) it is believed to be haunted e) shepherds have agreed never to talk about it
Question 4
[1 marks]In paragraph 2 the writer describes what happens to lost sheep as: a) always found within a day b) sometimes not found until the following spring, when the snow melts c) never lost in the first place d) rescued immediately by helicopter e) found by other shepherds' dogs
Question 5
[1 marks]What does the story of the vanished flock suggest about the moor? a) It is entirely safe in winter b) It can be dangerous and unpredictable, especially when the weather closes in c) It is fenced off from sheep d) Farmers avoid using it altogether e) Shepherds no longer use the land
Question 6
[1 marks]By describing a cliff edge as something that 'announces itself' in paragraph 3, the writer means: a) cliffs make a loud noise b) the danger of a cliff is obvious and can be measured or avoided c) cliffs are marked with warning signs d) cliffs are more dangerous than the moor e) cliffs only exist in stories
Question 7
[1 marks]The writer says the moor's threat is 'patient and diffuse' (paragraph 3). This means: a) the danger is immediate and obvious b) the danger builds up slowly, quietly, and from several small, spread-out causes rather than one clear one c) the danger only occurs at night d) the danger is entirely imaginary e) the danger comes from wild animals
Question 8
[1 marks]According to paragraph 3, the moor was left alone for centuries because: a) it was considered sacred b) it was too wet and too high to be useful for farming c) it belonged to the government d) nobody was brave enough to explore it e) it was too far from any road
Question 9
[1 marks]The phrase 'grew a reputation of its own' (paragraph 3) suggests that: a) the moor became famous for its scenery b) being left alone allowed stories and beliefs about the moor to develop over time c) local people started a marketing campaign d) the moor was renamed by explorers e) scientists studied the moor closely
Question 10
[1 marks]Why might the story of the packhorse train (paragraph 4) still be retold today? a) because it can be proven to be entirely true b) because it captures a fear about the moor that existed even before the story itself c) because it is a funny story d) because it explains why farming is difficult e) because the bell has recently been found
Question 11
[1 marks]In paragraph 4, the writer states that the moor gives shape to 'a fear that predates it'. This means: a) people were only afraid after hearing the story b) the fear already existed in some form before this particular story was ever told c) the moor was frightening only in the past, not now d) the fear was invented by farmers e) the fear is only felt by children
Question 12
[1 marks]What does the writer suggest happens to a walker caught in fog on the summit (paragraph 5)? a) They can easily find their way using landmarks b) They lose their sense of the horizon, the path, and how far they have travelled c) They are guaranteed to be found quickly d) The fog always lifts within minutes e) They should keep walking as fast as possible
Question 13
[1 marks]Considering the passage as a whole, the writer: a) believes moorland should be fenced off from the public b) is fascinated by the way uncertainty, rather than obvious danger, creates unease c) thinks fear of the moor is completely irrational and should be ignored d) wants more farms built on the moor e) believes GPS devices have solved all the moor's dangers
Question 14
[1 marks]Considering the passage as a whole, the writer suggests that: a) clear weather removes all sense of unease on the moor b) even in good conditions, the boundary between the hill and the sky feels unsettling to notice c) the moor is entirely without atmosphere or mystery d) walkers should avoid the moor at all times e) the moor has now been fully explained by science
Question 15
[1 marks]What is the overall purpose of this passage? a) to give directions for a walking route b) to explore, thoughtfully, why a particular landscape has always unsettled people c) to argue that all high moorland should be developed d) to retell a single ghost story in full e) to complain about poor weather forecasting
Question 16
[1 marks]SECTION B: What is the closest definition to 'diffuse' (paragraph 3)? a) concentrated in one place b) spread out and not clearly located c) extremely bright d) very loud e) completely absent
Question 17
[1 marks]What is the closest definition to 'unsettled' (paragraph 3, as used of people)? a) delighted b) uneasy or anxious c) confident d) exhausted e) amused
Question 18
[1 marks]What is the closest definition to 'predates' (paragraph 4)? a) comes after in time b) exists before something else in time c) hunts d) destroys e) postpones
Question 19
[1 marks]What is the closest definition to 'fogbound' (paragraph 5)? a) surrounded and enclosed by fog b) fond of foggy weather c) free of fog d) frozen solid e) brightly lit
Question 20
[1 marks]What is the closest definition to 'confidence' as it is used in paragraph 5 ('the moor does not reward confidence')? a) fear b) self-assurance c) map-reading d) speed e) equipment
Question 21
[1 marks]SECTION C: Which of these lines uses personification (treating something as if it were human)? a) 'the ground rises steadily' b) 'land becomes weather' c) 'sheep are lost here every winter' d) 'a compass needle... seems to wander of its own accord' e) 'a cliff edge announces itself'
Question 22
[1 marks]Which of these words is an adjective? a) rises (paragraph 1) b) diffuse (paragraph 3) c) moor (paragraph 2) d) walked (paragraph 1) e) sheep (paragraph 2)
Question 23
[1 marks]Which of these words is an adverb? a) steadily (paragraph 1) b) hillside (paragraph 1) c) grass (paragraph 1) d) heather (paragraph 1) e) rock (paragraph 1)
Question 24
[1 marks]What type of words are these: hillside (paragraph 1), heather (paragraph 1), mist (paragraph 1), shepherd (paragraph 2)? a) Verbs b) Adverbs c) Nouns d) Adjectives e) Pronouns
Question 25
[1 marks]'Where does the hillside end and the sky begin?' Is: a) a statement b) a question c) an exclamation d) a command e) a sentence fragment
Section B: Writing
Choose ONE of the following:
- Complete the following task.
- You should write about 1½–2 sides.
- Take care with your spelling, punctuation and grammar, and try to use some interesting and ambitious vocabulary.
Option 1: The cable car you are riding comes to a sudden stop, suspended high above a valley. Describe what you see and how you feel.
- Focus on close, specific observation rather than telling a whole story.
- Let your choice of detail suggest your feelings, rather than simply naming them.
- Vary your sentence lengths to control the pace of your description.