Question 1 of 12
What does spongy mean when the grass is described as 'spongy and slippery'?
A) Dry and brittle
B) Sharp and prickly
C) Soft and waterlogged, squashing underfoot
D) Frozen solid like ice
Question 2 of 12
What does stagger mean in 'stagger down with it'?
A) To run smoothly and quickly
B) To walk unsteadily, swaying under a heavy weight
C) To throw something down a hill
D) To carefully balance on tiptoes
Question 3 of 12
What does elfin mean when Grace dances in 'that elfin way of hers'?
A) Small, delicate, and quick — like a fairy or elf
B) Loud and clumsy
C) Frightening and threatening
D) Tired and slow
Question 4 of 12
What does hurtled mean in 'hurtled down the slope'?
A) Walked slowly and cautiously
B) Rolled down in a ball
C) Climbed upwards with difficulty
D) Moved extremely fast in an almost uncontrolled way
Question 5 of 12
The wet grass is compared to a puppy they could not get rid of. What literary technique is this?
A) Metaphor — the grass has turned into a puppy
B) Extended simile — a comparison using 'like' that continues over several details (sniffing, slowing down)
C) Personification — giving the grass human feelings
D) Onomatopoeia — a word that sounds like what it describes
Question 6 of 12
The twins communicate without speaking — they just look at each other and share thoughts. What does this show about them?
A) They are scared of Colin and don't want him to hear their plan
B) They have practised hand signals beforehand
C) They have an incredibly close bond as identical twins — they understand each other without words
D) They cannot speak because they are out of breath from climbing
Question 7 of 12
The writer says the chase 'never should have been on'. What technique is this?
A) Foreshadowing — a warning that something bad will happen later because of this chase
B) Flashback — the writer is remembering a past event
C) Alliteration — repeating the same letter sound
D) Repetition — saying the same word over and over
Question 8 of 12
We know that Grace fell into the river, but Colin doesn't know which twin it is. What technique is the writer using here?
A) A cliffhanger — the story stops at an exciting moment
B) A flashback — Colin is remembering the chase
C) Personification — the river is given human qualities
D) Dramatic irony — the reader knows it's Grace (who can't swim), but Colin can't tell which twin it is
Question 9 of 12
Colin feels 'as if he had been kicked in the stomach'. What does this simile tell us about his reaction?
A) He has been physically injured during the chase
B) He feels sudden, sickening horror — the shock of seeing the twin fall into a dangerous river hits him like a physical blow
C) He is hungry because they've been running for a long time
D) He is angry at the twins for teasing him
Question 10 of 12
Which word best describes the twins' behaviour throughout the passage?
A) Cautious — they carefully think about the consequences of their actions
B) Shy — they are quiet and don't want to be noticed
C) Mischievous — they are playful and love teasing, but their tricks have unintended consequences
D) Cruel — they deliberately try to hurt Colin's feelings
Question 11 of 12
Why does Madeleine linger near Colin, letting him nearly catch her?
A) She has special feelings for Colin and secretly wants him to catch her and recognise her
B) She is too tired to run away quickly
C) She tripped and nearly fell over
D) She wanted to steal his hat as part of the game
Question 12 of 12
The passage begins with the grass described as 'spongy and slippery' from rain. How does this detail connect to the ending?
A) It doesn't connect — the weather at the start is unrelated to the accident
B) The grass made Grace sneeze, which is why she fell
C) The twins should have brought umbrellas
D) The same rain that made the grass spongy also made the riverbank slippery, causing Grace to fall — the dangerous conditions were there from the very beginning