Question 1 of 10
'A kind of cattle auction' as a metaphor for choosing evacuee children is effective because...
A) It exposes the dehumanising reality — children are being inspected and selected like animals for sale
B) There are real cows in the hall
C) Albert wants to be a farmer
D) The children enjoy pretending to be animals
Question 2 of 10
Carrie connects the evacuation to 'when they picked teams at school'. This makes the passage more...
A) Confusing — schools and evacuations are completely different
B) Funny — being picked for teams is a joke
C) Relatable — every reader knows the dread of being picked last, so we immediately feel Carrie's terror
D) Historical — it teaches us about 1940s school sports
Question 3 of 10
Albert reading a book instead of standing in line is...
A) Rude and disrespectful to the adults helping
B) A quiet act of rebellion — refusing to be inspected preserves his dignity
C) A sign that he doesn't care about being chosen
D) Normal behaviour — all children read during evacuations
Question 4 of 10
Carrie deliberately 'unfocuses her eyes'. This shows...
A) She has a vision problem and needs glasses
B) She is too tired to keep her eyes open
C) The room is very smoky and hard to see in
D) A self-protective instinct — she can't bear to see clear faces judging and potentially rejecting her
Question 5 of 10
'She softened' when she saw Nick. The word 'softened' suggests...
A) Her anger melted away when she truly saw her vulnerable little brother — love replaced fear
B) She became physically softer, like a cushion
C) She decided to give up and go home
D) Nick made a joke that made her laugh
Question 6 of 10
'Cake would choke her' is an example of showing emotion through...
A) Dialogue — Carrie tells someone she's scared
B) A flashback — remembering a time she choked on cake
C) Physical reaction — instead of saying 'I'm scared', the writer shows anxiety through its effect on her body
D) Exaggeration — Carrie is being dramatic
Question 7 of 10
The 'cheerful, plump woman with a singsong Welsh voice' is kind, yet the situation is still terrifying. This contrast shows...
A) The woman is secretly cruel
B) Even kindness can't fix a fundamentally dehumanising system — individual niceness doesn't remove the structural cruelty
C) Wales is always a happy place
D) Carrie is being ungrateful for the kindness offered
Question 8 of 10
'Hardly daring to breathe' describes Carrie...
A) Frozen with anxiety — so tense she's barely breathing, trying to be invisible
B) Running out of oxygen in a sealed room
C) Playing a game of holding her breath
D) Being very brave and confident
Question 9 of 10
Nick 'blinked with surprise' when Carrie was fierce. This tells us Nick is...
A) Angry at Carrie for being mean to him
B) Too young to understand what's happening
C) Trying to make Carrie laugh
D) So innocent and vulnerable that Carrie's fierceness seems wrong — his surprise makes her realise she's directing her fear at the wrong person
Question 10 of 10
The passage's overall theme is...
A) War is exciting and children enjoy being evacuated
B) Adults always know best and children should obey
C) Love and loyalty can survive even the most frightening, dehumanising circumstances
D) Reading books is the best way to deal with problems