GCSE English and Maths Resits (Grade 4) · English Language

Reading Comprehension

40 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

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Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 40 questions

  1. What does the contrast between how Grandad carried the toolbox and how Dev carries it suggest?
  2. The writer describes the spanners as lying 'like a patient in a bed'. What does this simile suggest?
  3. Which sense does the writer use to describe the cloth around the chisels?
  4. What can be inferred from the fact that Dev does not open the note?
  5. What does the phrase 'a shed that no longer whistled' suggest?
  6. Which technique is used in 'the marrows sprawled across the path as if they owned it'?
  7. What is the overall atmosphere of the passage?
  8. What is the effect of the short sentence 'Nobody hurried here.'?
  9. Which detail appeals to the sense of hearing?
  10. What does the description of Mr Bell's shed, 'its roof patched with a political poster, leaned slightly to the left', suggest?
  11. What percentage of the students surveyed chose an apprenticeship?
  12. What is the main purpose of the passage?
  13. In the passage, what does the word 'advocates' mean?
  14. What does Ms Patel's final comment suggest?
  15. How many more students chose university than an apprenticeship?
  16. By how much had library visits fallen over four years?
  17. What did the council finally agree to?
  18. Why does the writer include Mr Okafor's quotation about homework and lonely people?
  19. Which statement from the passage is a fact that could be checked?
  20. In the passage, what does the word 'compromise' mean?
  21. What is the writer's main viewpoint?
  22. What is the effect of the simile 'as steady as a heartbeat'?
  23. Why does the writer use the word 'Admittedly' before mentioning drawbacks?
  24. How much extra does the writer earn per hour for night work?
  25. What is the purpose of the final sentence, 'Try it for a month before you pity me'?
  26. What is the main purpose of this text?
  27. The writer repeats 'Think of...' three times. What is the effect?
  28. What must a student do to receive the £40 voucher?
  29. Which claim does the writer support by referring to a source?
  30. What is the effect of opening with the question 'Why are you still sitting in traffic?'
  31. According to the timetable Ruth knows by heart, at what time is the last bus due?
  32. Why does Ruth delete the message 'Nearly home' before sending it?
  33. What does the sentence 'He did not look at her. Nobody did.' suggest about Ruth's situation?
  34. Which detail shows the weather affecting Ruth directly?
  35. What is the effect of the final line, 'the bus sighed to a halt as though it, too, had been waiting all night'?
  36. At about what time did the river burst its banks?
  37. About how many people used the emergency shelter?
  38. Why does the writer include the quotation from shopkeeper Anita Rao?
  39. What does the detail that the defences were 'last upgraded in 2009' suggest?
  40. What is the situation with electricity by Wednesday afternoon?

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