Question 1 of 10
The boy hears the melancholy sound of the bell. What does this tell us about his mood?
A) He is excited and can't wait to have his hair cut
B) He is nervous and slightly anxious — the bell sounds sad because HE feels uneasy
C) The bell is broken and makes a strange noise
D) The boy hates music and doesn't like the sound of bells
Question 2 of 10
Mr Frensham calls the boy "one gentleman to have his locks shorn". Why does he use this language?
A) He is confused and thinks the boy is an adult
B) He always talks like this because he is very old-fashioned and formal
C) He's being playfully grand — using fancy language to make the little boy's first haircut feel like an important occasion
D) He is making fun of the boy's long hair
Question 3 of 10
The boy watches his cut hair and sees bright curls on the floor, not belonging to him any more. What technique does the writer use?
A) Simile — comparing the curls to something else
B) Hyperbole — exaggerating how much hair has been cut
C) Alliteration — repeating the same sound
D) A poignant observation — the boy quietly notices that something that was part of him is now gone, hinting at growing up and change
Question 4 of 10
The new short hairs pushed like a hedgehog against his hand. What does this simile tell us?
A) The freshly cut hair at the back of his neck feels prickly and stiff — a new, unfamiliar sensation
B) The boy's hair looks like a hedgehog — spiky and messy
C) There is a hedgehog in Mr Frensham's shop
D) The boy is scared of hedgehogs and doesn't like the feeling
Question 5 of 10
The father feeds the boy gravy as if he were feeding a small bird. What does this simile reveal?
A) The boy eats very quickly, pecking at food
B) The father is tender and gentle — he treats his son as something small, precious, and delicate
C) The boy is too young to feed himself and needs help
D) The father is a bird-watcher who thinks about birds all the time
Question 6 of 10
The boy is certain of the man's approval when he puts on his cap. What does this tell us about the father-son relationship?
A) The boy is arrogant and thinks he's always right
B) The father always agrees with everything the boy does, even when he's wrong
C) The boy feels completely secure in his father's love — he has no doubt at all that his father will be proud
D) The boy has been told by his mother that his father will like the cap
Question 7 of 10
What does the phrase "We'll be men together" suggest about the father's feelings?
A) He wants the boy to do heavy, difficult work with him
B) He is disappointed that the boy isn't a girl
C) He wants to teach the boy to fight and be tough
D) He sees the haircut and cap as a milestone — his son is growing up, and he wants to share that special moment
Question 8 of 10
The story contains several details — a fruiterer's, a clothier's, dinner kept warm in the oven — that suggest it is set in the past. What technique is the writer using?
A) Period detail — using specific old-fashioned words and customs to place the story in an earlier time
B) Foreshadowing — hinting at something that will happen later
C) Irony — saying the opposite of what is meant
D) Onomatopoeia — using words that sound like what they describe
Question 9 of 10
Mr Frensham nodding his own old head in admiration as he checks the haircut. Why does the writer include the words 'his own old'?
A) To show that Mr Frensham is too old to be a barber and should retire
B) To create a gentle contrast between Mr Frensham's old head and the boy's young one — connecting two generations
C) To show that Mr Frensham is vain and always thinking about his own appearance
D) To explain why Mr Frensham has white hair — because he is very old
Question 10 of 10
Throughout the passage, the writer uses many small, precise details — the bumps in the cloth, the steam from potatoes, the dry gravy crust. What is the effect?
A) It makes the story boring because nothing exciting happens
B) It proves the writer isn't very creative and can only describe what's in front of them
C) It shows us the world through a child's eyes — everything is new, vivid, and worth noticing
D) It's padding to make the passage longer for the exam