GCSE English Language Reading

Question 1

Read the sentence: 'The wind clawed at the windows, desperate to get in.' Which language technique is being used?

Accepted Answer

Personification

Answer

The wind is given human qualities (clawing, being desperate), which is personification.

Question 2

In a GCSE reading exam, what does the instruction 'Use evidence from the text to support your answer' mean you should do?

Accepted Answer

Include short, relevant quotations from the passage

Answer

Evidence means selecting short, precise quotations that directly support your point.

Question 3

Which of the following is a simile?

Accepted Answer

Her voice was as sharp as broken glass.

Answer

A simile compares two things using 'like' or 'as'.

Question 4

A writer describes a house as 'gloomy, silent and cold' and then reveals 'a single light flickered in the attic'. What is the most likely effect of this structural choice on the reader?

Accepted Answer

It creates tension and curiosity about who or what is in the attic

Answer

The contrast between emptiness and a single sign of life builds suspense.

Question 5

What is the purpose of a writer using a rhetorical question such as 'Who wouldn't want a cleaner planet?'

Accepted Answer

To engage the reader and make them agree with an obvious answer

Answer

Rhetorical questions involve the reader and suggest an answer they are expected to share.

GCSE - General Certificate of Secondary Education Practice Test

GCSE - General Certificate of Secondary Education Practice Test

GCSE English Language Reading