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Year 5 English — Reading for clues

Answer what a short passage says outright, and what it only leaves clues about.

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.One word, please. Read: "Grandmother keeps her spectacles in a red tin box on the top shelf." What colour is the box?

  2. 2.Read: "Nila's bag was heavy with library books. She had borrowed six, although the rule allowed only four." How many books was she allowed to borrow?

    • a) Four
    • b) Ten
    • c) Two
    • d) Six

  3. 3.Read: "Meera read the notice board twice, then walked away smiling and swinging her bag." How does Meera feel?

    • a) Frightened
    • b) Bored
    • c) Pleased
    • d) Angry

  4. 4.Match each detail to what it tells you.

    • The lights were off and the door was locked.
    • He was carrying a bat and wearing pads.
    • Her umbrella was dripping in the corner.
    • The plates were empty and the chairs pushed back.
    • He was going to play cricket.
    • The shop was shut.
    • She had come in from the rain.
    • The meal was over.

  5. 5.Read: "The path was so narrow that they had to walk in single file." What does "narrow" mean here?

    • a) Not wide
    • b) Very dark
    • c) Full of stones
    • d) Very long

  6. 6.Passage: "Rain fell all morning. Anna came into the hall carrying her shoes, and left wet footprints across the floor." Sort each statement.

    Groups: Stated in the passage · Worked out from the passage

    • It rained all morning.
    • Anna was carrying her shoes.
    • Anna had been walking barefoot.
    • Anna had been outside in the rain.

  7. 7.Read: "The train to the hills leaves at six in the morning and takes four hours." How many hours does the journey take?

  8. 8.Read: "First the sky darkened. Then the wind rose, and the door banged shut. Only after that did the rain start." Put the events in the order they happened.

    • The rain started.
    • The sky darkened.
    • The door banged shut.
    • The wind rose.

Answer key — Year 5 English — Reading for clues

  1. 1. red
  2. 2. a) Four
  3. 3. c) Pleased
  4. 4. The lights were off and the door was locked. → The shop was shut.; He was carrying a bat and wearing pads. → He was going to play cricket.; Her umbrella was dripping in the corner. → She had come in from the rain.; The plates were empty and the chairs pushed back. → The meal was over.
  5. 5. a) Not wide
  6. 6. It rained all morning. → Stated in the passage; Anna was carrying her shoes. → Stated in the passage; Anna had been walking barefoot. → Worked out from the passage; Anna had been outside in the rain. → Worked out from the passage
  7. 7. 4
  8. 8. 1. The sky darkened. 2. The wind rose. 3. The door banged shut. 4. The rain started.