ABC Education · 7+ Practice
Week 3 · English Practice Paper
Reading: 30 marks · Writing: 25 marks · Suggested time: 45 minutes.
Reading Passage
Read this passage carefully, then answer the questions that follow it.
A Trip to the Aquarium
A yellow coach rumbled to a stop outside Elm Road Primary School. The children of 3B scrambled aboard, swinging their lunchboxes and talking all at once, and before long they were speeding along the road towards the coast.
Their teacher, Mrs Patel, told them what they might see. "There will be sharks, seahorses, an octopus and a diver feeding the fish," she said. Freddie could hardly sit still in his seat.
When they reached the aquarium, the children gasped — it was absolutely ENORMOUS, with tanks stretching from floor to ceiling. Mrs Patel began to feel anxious, because in such a big building it would be easy for someone to wander off. She kept an especially close eye on Freddie Chen, who always seemed to disappear on class trips.
They watched a shark as long as a car glide past the glass. They saw tiny seahorses no bigger than a thumb, and a huge octopus curled in the corner of its tank, changing colour before their eyes.
At the end of the visit, 3B went to the gift shop to choose souvenirs. Freddie held his two pounds tightly, unable to decide between a rubber shark and a keyring shaped like a starfish. In the end he chose neither, and put his money back in his pocket. Then it was time for lunch in the courtyard outside. As everyone nibbled their crisps, Freddie realised he had left his jumper on the bench inside the shop. He hurried back along the long, glass-walled corridor, past tank after tank of fish.
Suddenly he turned a corner into a dark, quiet room he had never noticed before. He was completely lost….
Section A: Reading
Question 1
[1 marks]What class is Freddie in?
Question 2
[1 marks]Where are the children going on their school trip?
Question 3
[2 marks]What four things did Mrs Patel say they might see there?
Question 4
[2 marks]How can you tell that the children of 3B are excited as they leave school?
Question 5
[1 marks]Why is the word 'ENORMOUS' written in capital letters?
Question 6
[2 marks]From the story, how do we know that the shark the children saw was long?
Question 7
[1 marks]What are 'souvenirs'?
Question 8
[2 marks]Why is Mrs Patel worried about Freddie?
Question 9
[1 marks]Why does Freddie go back into the building on his own?
Question 10
[5 marks]How would you feel if you got lost on a school trip? Try to answer in as much detail as you can.
Question 11
[4 marks]Find one word from the story which means the same, or nearly the same, as the words below: huge chew holding nervous
Question 12
[2 marks]At the end of the story, why do you think the author used '….'?
Question 13
[2 marks]Put these words in order to make a sentence. Remember to add a capital letter and a full stop. shop the to went freddie
Question 14
[2 marks]Put these words in order to make a sentence. Remember to add a capital letter and a full stop. worried felt patel mrs
Question 15
[2 marks]Put these words in order to make a sentence. Remember to add a capital letter and a full stop. lost completely was freddie
Section B: Writing
Choose ONE of the following:
- Write at least half a page on ONE of the following tasks.
- Remember to check your spelling, capital letters and full stops.
Option 1: Write about what happens to Freddie next in the aquarium. Call your story 'Lost in the Aquarium'.
- Think about how Freddie is feeling.
- Think about where he goes.
- Think about what he does next, and how the story ends.
Option 2: Write about the best school trip you have ever been on. Call your story 'My Best School Trip'.
- Think about where you went.
- Think about what you saw and did there.
- Think about why it was your favourite school trip.