Pupil Book 6
Comprehension
Author: Abigail Steel
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Pupil Book 6
Comprehension
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Contents Page 6 10 14
Unit 1: Fiction: ‘Trouble Half-Way’ Unit 2: Fiction (traditional): ‘The Discontented Fish’ Unit 3: Non-fiction (persuasive writing): Advertisements Unit 4: Non-fiction (emails): Climate change, what climate change? 17 Unit 5: Poetry: ‘Crack-a-Dawn’ 21 Unit 6: Poetry: 'The Song of Hiawatha' 24 Unit 7: Poetry: ‘The Highwayman’ 28 Unit 8: Non-fiction (news report): Save it! 32 Unit 9: Non-fiction (information text): Deserts 36 Unit 10: Poetry: Views of winter 40 Unit 11: Fiction: ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’ 43 Unit 12: Fiction (classic): ‘The Railway Children’ 47 Unit 13: Fiction (classic): ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ 51 Unit 14: Playscript: ‘Compere Lapin and Compere Tig’ 55 Unit 15: Non-fiction (autobiography): ‘Wild Swans’ 59
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Comprehension Unit 1
Fiction: ‘Trouble Half-Way’ From ‘Trouble Half-Way’ by Jan Mark Amy’s father has died and her mother’s new husband has moved in. For a start, Amy never knew what to call him. She would not, like Helen, call him Daddy and she knew he did not expect her to, but Step-Daddy sounded daft, and she could hardly call him Mr Ermins. Mum did not like her calling him Richard. ‘You never called your Dad Michael, did you?’ Mum had said unreasonably. Usually she just made a mumbling noise. It was easier for him: she was Amy to everyone. No one would ever have called her Daughter – not Dad, not Richard. Mum was folding the napkins into even smaller squares ready for ironing. ‘What d’you want to iron nappies for?’ Richard would ask, sometimes. ‘Helen won’t know any different.’ ‘Oh, I don’t know – it looks ... nicer,’ Mum would say. ‘But no one can see them.’ ‘I can see them,’ Mum would retort, looking at the tottering pile of flattened napkins on the table, like a stack of sandwiches waiting to be cut into quarters. Richard would be looking at the laundry basket on the floor, full of things still waiting to be ironed. ‘Life’s too short,’ he would say. Now he was looking at the elastic bandage around Amy’s knee. ‘How’s your leg?’ Mum was looking at her socks but not saying anything. The socks were gyving round her ankles because she kept tugging at them during lessons and the stretchy part was giving way. Mum ironed socks, too.
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‘It’s not too bad,’ Amy said, meaning her knee, and added carefully, because it was Richard who had asked, ‘thank you.’ ‘What do you mean, not too bad?’ Mum said, quickly. ‘Has it been hurting?’ ‘It twinged a bit this morning when I knelt down in assembly.’ ‘You be careful – you want it right for Thursday. Perhaps I ought to write a note and ask Miss Oxley to let you off games and that for the start of next week.’ ‘But I’ve got to practise,’ Amy said. ‘Anyway, Miss Oxley won’t let me do anything I shouldn’t. She says I’m the best chance we’ve got if Debra isn’t better.’ ‘What’s wrong with Debra?’ ‘She turned her ankle on the beam on Wednesday. She came down too heavy.’ Amy noticed that Richard was staring at her over the rim of his mug. ‘Kneeling?’ he said. ‘In assembly?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Hands-together-eyes-closed-Our-Father-which-art-in-heaven?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Good God,’ said Richard. ‘What did you do in assembly, then?’ Mum demanded, unfolding the ironing board. ‘Stand on one leg?’
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Get started Use a dictionary or the internet to make sure you understand and can explain all of the words in the extract. Then write sentences to answer each question. Refer to the text in your answer and use quotes when you can. 1. Why didn’t Amy want to call Richard “Step-Daddy”? 2. What reason did Amy’s mum give for ironing the nappies? 3. What is Amy’s sister called? 4. Which body part has Amy hurt? 5. What was causing the stretchy part of Amy’s socks to give way? 6. What happened to Debra? 7. What is Amy’s teacher called? 8. Why does Amy’s mum suggest she write a note to the teacher?
Try these Write sentences to answer each question in your own words. Explain your answer as fully as you can. 1. Amys’ mums says “You never called your Dad Michael, did you?” Was this unreasonable? 2. Why do you think Amy’s mum didn’t like Amy calling Richard by his name? 3. How old do you think Amy’s sister is? 4. Why do you think Amy feels she should add ‘thank you’ when she responds to Richard asking about her leg? 5. Why do you think it is important for Amy’s leg to be better for Thursday? 6. How does Amy’s mum feel about Amy’s injury? 7. Richard says “Hands-together-eyes-closed-Our-Father-which-art-inheaven?”. Why do you think he says this? 8. Why might Amy’s mum find the situation at home stressful?
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Now try these 1. Describe the character of Amy, based on what you learn in the extract. 2. Choose at least three words, phrases or images from the extract that show Amy’s mum being stressed. 3. Describe the character of Richard, based on what you learn in the extract. 4. How do we know that the conversation about ironing nappies does not happen at the same time as the rest of this scene? 5. Write a diary entry as if you were Amy, reflecting on her feelings about Richard and the rest of her life at the moment. How is she feeling? What is important to her?
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