ST RUTH SCHOOL

Montessori Kindergarten and Primary;

Tel 0780 787 884

BRITISH NATIONAL CURRICULUM.

YEAR SIX RANDOM ASSESSMENT TEST.
ENGLISH. TIME; 1 hour.
NAME

DATE

CLASS

INSTRUCTIONS
 Answer all questions
 Write your answer to each question in the spaces provided
 You should pay attention to punctuation, spelling and handwriting.

INFORMATION
 The total mark for this paper is 50.
 The number of marks for each question is shown in brackets.
 Ensure you answer all the questions.
The Diary of a Space Traveller and Other Stories
Professor Shonku and his companions are flying in his spaceship towards Mars. Prahlad is
Professor Shonku’s assistant and Avinash Babu is his friend back on earth.
[1] We can see nothing but Mars, when we look out of the window. The hazy lines on it are
getting clearer. We should land there in about twenty four hours. Now, when I think of Avinash
Babu’s jibes, I feel like laughing.
[2] I have put to one side all that we shall take with us. My camera, binoculars, weapons, first-
aid box – each of these things will have to be carried. There is no doubt in my mind that there is
life on Mars, though I have no idea whether that life is large or small, peaceful or violent. Surely
whatever creatures there are won’t look anything like humans. If their appearance is weird, that
may well scare us at first. But what must be remembered is that just as we have never seen any
of them before, they haven’t seen any of us.
[3] Prahlad isn’t worried at all. He does not anticipate any trouble. I don’t want to -
[4] An extraordinary thing happened while I was writing in my diary a while ago. Bidhushekhar
had been rather quiet for the last few days. I couldn’t see why. He hasn’t yet learnt to speak
properly. He cannot answer questions. All he can do is try to repeat the words he hears.
[5] Today, while I was busy writing, who knows what possessed him. He jumped to his feet,
rushed to the control panel and yanked the handle that is supposed to put the rocket into reverse
motion. Under its impact, all of us lost our balance and were soon rolling on the floor.
[6] Then, somehow I managed to get up and press the button on Bidhushekhar’s left shoulder.
That incapacitated him instantly. He folded all his arms and legs and fell down, inert. I pulled
the other handle on the panel that made us turn back and resume our journey to Mars.
[7] What could be the reason behind Bidhushekhar’s sudden fit of madness? I have decided to
keep him switched off until we get to Mars. Then I’ll switch on again. Perhaps I had worked him
too hard in trying to teach him to speak. Maybe that put too much pressure on his ‘mind’, so he
lost it.
[8] There are five hours to landing. The blue patches on the planet – that I had initially thought
were water – appear to be something different. Besides, there are slim, red, thread-like structures.
I cannot imagine what they are.
[9] We landed on Mars two hours ago. I am writing my diary sitting on a soft yellow ‘rocky’
mound. Everything here – the trees, the ground, stones and rocks – is kind of soft, and feels like
rubber.
[10] A little distance away, a red river is flowing by. It took me a while to realise that it was a
river, as its ‘water’ looks like clear jelly, a bit like guava jelly. Perhaps all rivers here are red. It
is these rivers that had appeared as red threads from space. What had struck me as water, it
turned out, was grass and trees and plants. All of it is blue, instead of green. What is green is the
sky. Everything is the opposite of what we see on Earth.
[11] I haven’t yet seen a living creature. Did I make a mistake in my assumptions? There is no
noise at all, except the slight gurgling of the river. The atmosphere is decidedly eerie. Why is
everything so quiet?
Glossary
jibes: insulting remarks
binoculars: piece of equipment for looking at things that are far away, made from two tubes with glass
at the ends
incapacitated: made too sick or weak or incapable to work or do things normally
guava: round yellow tropical fruit with pink or white flesh and hard seeds
eerie: strange in a frightening and mysterious way

Questions;
1.Who or what is Bidhushekar? Explain using evidence from the extract.
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2.Why do you think Bidhushekar pulled the handle?
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[1]
3.What is the purpose of the dash at the end of paragraph 3?
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4.Scan the extract for other dashes and explain their purpose.
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[3]
5.Suggest a reason why the following words from the extract are in inverted commas in
paragraph 7,9 and 10.
a) ‘mind’
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b) ‘rocky’
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c) ‘water’
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[3]
6.What is the mood of the extract? How has it been created?
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7.Take a look at the following sentences in paragraph eleven.
I haven’t yet seen a living creature.
Did I make a mistake in my assumptions?
a) What voice are the sentences written in?
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[1]
b) Suggest a reason for your answer.
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c) Change the sentences into the opposite voice.
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8 a) Is the extract written mostly in the active or the passive voice?
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b) Give reasons why this voice has been used.
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9.Discuss the reasons for using the passive voice in these sentences.
a) The door was slowly pushed open….
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b) Lunch will be provided at the event.
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c) A parcel had been left on the table -with no note.
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[3]
10.Give two ways in which the writer creates suspense in paragraph eleven.
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 Section B : Writing.
Write a balanced argument under the title;
‘Should the amount of time we spent on our gadgets over holidays be considered a
worrying issue?’
The argument will be featured in your school magazine.
Remember to;
 Follow the conventions of this type of writing.
 Be informative.
 Bring out the audience, purpose and language clearly.
 Use the correct layout and format.
 Use long and short sentences for effect.
 Use connectives to link your ideas.
Use the box below to plan for your argument.

Write your argument on the next page.

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[25mks]