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Summarising
6th grade (Year 7 in England) · 16 questions · Common Core: RI.6.2, RL.6.2 · England: Y6 Reading (summarising), KS3 Reading, GCSE English Language Paper 2 Q2
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The Clever Octopus
If you wanted to design an intelligent animal from scratch, you probably would not start with a creature that has no bones, three hearts and blue blood. Yet the octopus is one of the most remarkable problem-solvers in the animal kingdom.
In laboratories, octopuses have learned to unscrew jar lids to reach crabs inside. Some have escaped from their tanks at night, crept across the floor to a neighbouring tank to eat the fish, and then returned home before morning. In the wild, veined octopuses have been filmed collecting coconut shells, carrying them across the seabed and assembling them into a portable shelter – one of the few known examples of tool use by an invertebrate.
What makes this intelligence so surprising is how different the octopus brain is from ours. About two-thirds of its roughly 500 million nerve cells are not in its head at all but in its eight arms. Each arm can taste, touch and even make simple decisions on its own. Scientists are still debating what it might feel like to be an animal whose thinking is spread throughout its body.
The octopus's cleverness may be linked to its lifestyle. Without a shell for protection, it must outwit predators by hiding, changing colour in a fraction of a second, or squeezing through gaps no bigger than its beak. Survival depends on flexible thinking.
Strangely, most octopuses live only one or two years. They have no parents to teach them and usually die soon after laying eggs. Every skill they show, they must largely work out for themselves.
Question 1
Read "The Clever Octopus". Which choice best states the central idea of the text?
- A. Octopuses should not be kept in laboratories.
- B. The octopus is a highly intelligent animal whose mind works very differently from ours.
- C. Coconut shells make good shelters.
- D. Octopuses escape from tanks at night.
The Long Wall
The Great Wall of China is not one wall at all. It is a network of walls, trenches and watchtowers built and rebuilt over more than two thousand years by different dynasties. If all its sections were laid end to end, they would stretch over 21,000 kilometres – more than half the distance around the Earth.
The earliest walls were built from packed earth around the seventh century BCE, when rival Chinese states defended their borders from one another. In about 220 BCE, the first emperor of a united China, Qin Shi Huang, ordered many of these separate walls to be joined together to protect the north from raiding groups.
The sections that most visitors see today are far younger. They were built during the Ming dynasty, between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Ming builders used bricks and stone, which is why these sections have survived so well. Watchtowers were placed close enough together for soldiers to send signals using smoke by day and fire by night.
The wall came at a terrible cost. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, prisoners and farmers were forced to work on it, often in freezing mountains or burning deserts. Many died, and stories and songs about their suffering are still told.
Did the wall work? Historians disagree. It slowed down small raids and helped control trade and travel, but determined armies could still break through or simply go around it. Today, its greatest power may be as a symbol – of human effort, of history and of a nation's identity.
Question 2
Read "The Long Wall". What is the main idea of paragraph 1?
- A. The Great Wall is a vast network built over a very long time.
- B. Only one dynasty built the wall.
- C. The wall goes around the Earth.
- D. The Great Wall was built in one year.
Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.
Question 3
Read "Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)". What is the main idea of the poem?
- A. Only children can see the wind.
- B. We cannot see the wind itself, but we can see its effects.
- C. Leaves are afraid of the wind.
- D. The wind is dangerous and destroys trees.
The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment
For one month, students at Brookfield School tried something unusual: no phones at lunch. Phones stayed in lockers from twelve until one, and the dining hall filled with board games, sketchbooks and a lot more noise.
The idea came from the student council. In a survey, 61 per cent of students said they spent most of lunch looking at a screen, and many said they wanted a break but found it hard to stop on their own.
At first, not everyone was happy. "I thought it was a punishment," admitted Jaden, 12. "But after a week I'd learned to play chess, and now I actually look forward to lunch."
Teachers noticed changes too. Ms Ortega, who supervises the hall, said there were fewer arguments and more students sitting in mixed groups. However, some students said they missed messaging family members during the day.
The council will now vote on whether to keep the rule. One suggestion is a compromise: phone-free Mondays to Thursdays, with Fridays left free.
Question 4
Read "The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment". What is the article mainly about?
- A. a school's month-long trial of phone-free lunches and how people reacted
- B. how to vote in a student council
- C. why chess is the best board game
- D. the history of mobile phones
Question 5
The first bicycles had no pedals; riders pushed along with their feet. Later models added pedals to a giant front wheel, which made them fast but dangerous. Eventually, the safety bicycle, with two equal wheels and a chain, became the design we use today. Which is the best summary?
- A. Bicycles have two wheels.
- B. Early bicycles were dangerous.
- C. Riders pushed with their feet.
- D. Bicycles developed over time from pedal-less models to the safer chain-driven design used today.
The Clever Octopus
If you wanted to design an intelligent animal from scratch, you probably would not start with a creature that has no bones, three hearts and blue blood. Yet the octopus is one of the most remarkable problem-solvers in the animal kingdom.
In laboratories, octopuses have learned to unscrew jar lids to reach crabs inside. Some have escaped from their tanks at night, crept across the floor to a neighbouring tank to eat the fish, and then returned home before morning. In the wild, veined octopuses have been filmed collecting coconut shells, carrying them across the seabed and assembling them into a portable shelter – one of the few known examples of tool use by an invertebrate.
What makes this intelligence so surprising is how different the octopus brain is from ours. About two-thirds of its roughly 500 million nerve cells are not in its head at all but in its eight arms. Each arm can taste, touch and even make simple decisions on its own. Scientists are still debating what it might feel like to be an animal whose thinking is spread throughout its body.
The octopus's cleverness may be linked to its lifestyle. Without a shell for protection, it must outwit predators by hiding, changing colour in a fraction of a second, or squeezing through gaps no bigger than its beak. Survival depends on flexible thinking.
Strangely, most octopuses live only one or two years. They have no parents to teach them and usually die soon after laying eggs. Every skill they show, they must largely work out for themselves.
Question 6
Read "The Clever Octopus". Which choice best states the central idea of the text?
- A. Coconut shells make good shelters.
- B. Octopuses should not be kept in laboratories.
- C. Octopuses escape from tanks at night.
- D. The octopus is a highly intelligent animal whose mind works very differently from ours.
The Long Wall
The Great Wall of China is not one wall at all. It is a network of walls, trenches and watchtowers built and rebuilt over more than two thousand years by different dynasties. If all its sections were laid end to end, they would stretch over 21,000 kilometres – more than half the distance around the Earth.
The earliest walls were built from packed earth around the seventh century BCE, when rival Chinese states defended their borders from one another. In about 220 BCE, the first emperor of a united China, Qin Shi Huang, ordered many of these separate walls to be joined together to protect the north from raiding groups.
The sections that most visitors see today are far younger. They were built during the Ming dynasty, between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Ming builders used bricks and stone, which is why these sections have survived so well. Watchtowers were placed close enough together for soldiers to send signals using smoke by day and fire by night.
The wall came at a terrible cost. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, prisoners and farmers were forced to work on it, often in freezing mountains or burning deserts. Many died, and stories and songs about their suffering are still told.
Did the wall work? Historians disagree. It slowed down small raids and helped control trade and travel, but determined armies could still break through or simply go around it. Today, its greatest power may be as a symbol – of human effort, of history and of a nation's identity.
Question 7
Read "The Long Wall". What is the main idea of paragraph 1?
- A. The wall goes around the Earth.
- B. The Great Wall was built in one year.
- C. The Great Wall is a vast network built over a very long time.
- D. Only one dynasty built the wall.
Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.
Question 8
Read "Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)". What is the main idea of the poem?
- A. The wind is dangerous and destroys trees.
- B. We cannot see the wind itself, but we can see its effects.
- C. Only children can see the wind.
- D. Leaves are afraid of the wind.
The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment
For one month, students at Brookfield School tried something unusual: no phones at lunch. Phones stayed in lockers from twelve until one, and the dining hall filled with board games, sketchbooks and a lot more noise.
The idea came from the student council. In a survey, 61 per cent of students said they spent most of lunch looking at a screen, and many said they wanted a break but found it hard to stop on their own.
At first, not everyone was happy. "I thought it was a punishment," admitted Jaden, 12. "But after a week I'd learned to play chess, and now I actually look forward to lunch."
Teachers noticed changes too. Ms Ortega, who supervises the hall, said there were fewer arguments and more students sitting in mixed groups. However, some students said they missed messaging family members during the day.
The council will now vote on whether to keep the rule. One suggestion is a compromise: phone-free Mondays to Thursdays, with Fridays left free.
Question 9
Read "The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment". What is the article mainly about?
- A. the history of mobile phones
- B. why chess is the best board game
- C. how to vote in a student council
- D. a school's month-long trial of phone-free lunches and how people reacted
Question 10
The first bicycles had no pedals; riders pushed along with their feet. Later models added pedals to a giant front wheel, which made them fast but dangerous. Eventually, the safety bicycle, with two equal wheels and a chain, became the design we use today. Which is the best summary?
- A. Early bicycles were dangerous.
- B. Riders pushed with their feet.
- C. Bicycles have two wheels.
- D. Bicycles developed over time from pedal-less models to the safer chain-driven design used today.
The Clever Octopus
If you wanted to design an intelligent animal from scratch, you probably would not start with a creature that has no bones, three hearts and blue blood. Yet the octopus is one of the most remarkable problem-solvers in the animal kingdom.
In laboratories, octopuses have learned to unscrew jar lids to reach crabs inside. Some have escaped from their tanks at night, crept across the floor to a neighbouring tank to eat the fish, and then returned home before morning. In the wild, veined octopuses have been filmed collecting coconut shells, carrying them across the seabed and assembling them into a portable shelter – one of the few known examples of tool use by an invertebrate.
What makes this intelligence so surprising is how different the octopus brain is from ours. About two-thirds of its roughly 500 million nerve cells are not in its head at all but in its eight arms. Each arm can taste, touch and even make simple decisions on its own. Scientists are still debating what it might feel like to be an animal whose thinking is spread throughout its body.
The octopus's cleverness may be linked to its lifestyle. Without a shell for protection, it must outwit predators by hiding, changing colour in a fraction of a second, or squeezing through gaps no bigger than its beak. Survival depends on flexible thinking.
Strangely, most octopuses live only one or two years. They have no parents to teach them and usually die soon after laying eggs. Every skill they show, they must largely work out for themselves.
Question 11
Read "The Clever Octopus". Which choice best states the central idea of the text?
- A. Octopuses escape from tanks at night.
- B. The octopus is a highly intelligent animal whose mind works very differently from ours.
- C. Coconut shells make good shelters.
- D. Octopuses should not be kept in laboratories.
The Long Wall
The Great Wall of China is not one wall at all. It is a network of walls, trenches and watchtowers built and rebuilt over more than two thousand years by different dynasties. If all its sections were laid end to end, they would stretch over 21,000 kilometres – more than half the distance around the Earth.
The earliest walls were built from packed earth around the seventh century BCE, when rival Chinese states defended their borders from one another. In about 220 BCE, the first emperor of a united China, Qin Shi Huang, ordered many of these separate walls to be joined together to protect the north from raiding groups.
The sections that most visitors see today are far younger. They were built during the Ming dynasty, between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Ming builders used bricks and stone, which is why these sections have survived so well. Watchtowers were placed close enough together for soldiers to send signals using smoke by day and fire by night.
The wall came at a terrible cost. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, prisoners and farmers were forced to work on it, often in freezing mountains or burning deserts. Many died, and stories and songs about their suffering are still told.
Did the wall work? Historians disagree. It slowed down small raids and helped control trade and travel, but determined armies could still break through or simply go around it. Today, its greatest power may be as a symbol – of human effort, of history and of a nation's identity.
Question 12
Read "The Long Wall". What is the main idea of paragraph 1?
- A. The Great Wall is a vast network built over a very long time.
- B. The Great Wall was built in one year.
- C. The wall goes around the Earth.
- D. Only one dynasty built the wall.
Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.
Question 13
Read "Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)". What is the main idea of the poem?
- A. Leaves are afraid of the wind.
- B. Only children can see the wind.
- C. The wind is dangerous and destroys trees.
- D. We cannot see the wind itself, but we can see its effects.
The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment
For one month, students at Brookfield School tried something unusual: no phones at lunch. Phones stayed in lockers from twelve until one, and the dining hall filled with board games, sketchbooks and a lot more noise.
The idea came from the student council. In a survey, 61 per cent of students said they spent most of lunch looking at a screen, and many said they wanted a break but found it hard to stop on their own.
At first, not everyone was happy. "I thought it was a punishment," admitted Jaden, 12. "But after a week I'd learned to play chess, and now I actually look forward to lunch."
Teachers noticed changes too. Ms Ortega, who supervises the hall, said there were fewer arguments and more students sitting in mixed groups. However, some students said they missed messaging family members during the day.
The council will now vote on whether to keep the rule. One suggestion is a compromise: phone-free Mondays to Thursdays, with Fridays left free.
Question 14
Read "The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment". What is the article mainly about?
- A. a school's month-long trial of phone-free lunches and how people reacted
- B. how to vote in a student council
- C. why chess is the best board game
- D. the history of mobile phones
Question 15
Mangrove trees grow along tropical coasts where land meets sea. Their tangled roots trap mud, protecting shores from storms and erosion. The roots also shelter young fish, crabs and shrimp. Yet mangroves are being cut down for farms and resorts faster than many other forests. Which is the best summary?
- A. Crabs live in mangrove roots.
- B. Resorts are popular with tourists.
- C. Mangroves grow in the tropics.
- D. Mangroves protect coasts and shelter sea life but are being destroyed quickly.
The Clever Octopus
If you wanted to design an intelligent animal from scratch, you probably would not start with a creature that has no bones, three hearts and blue blood. Yet the octopus is one of the most remarkable problem-solvers in the animal kingdom.
In laboratories, octopuses have learned to unscrew jar lids to reach crabs inside. Some have escaped from their tanks at night, crept across the floor to a neighbouring tank to eat the fish, and then returned home before morning. In the wild, veined octopuses have been filmed collecting coconut shells, carrying them across the seabed and assembling them into a portable shelter – one of the few known examples of tool use by an invertebrate.
What makes this intelligence so surprising is how different the octopus brain is from ours. About two-thirds of its roughly 500 million nerve cells are not in its head at all but in its eight arms. Each arm can taste, touch and even make simple decisions on its own. Scientists are still debating what it might feel like to be an animal whose thinking is spread throughout its body.
The octopus's cleverness may be linked to its lifestyle. Without a shell for protection, it must outwit predators by hiding, changing colour in a fraction of a second, or squeezing through gaps no bigger than its beak. Survival depends on flexible thinking.
Strangely, most octopuses live only one or two years. They have no parents to teach them and usually die soon after laying eggs. Every skill they show, they must largely work out for themselves.
Question 16
Read "The Clever Octopus". Which choice best states the central idea of the text?
- A. Octopuses should not be kept in laboratories.
- B. Octopuses escape from tanks at night.
- C. The octopus is a highly intelligent animal whose mind works very differently from ours.
- D. Coconut shells make good shelters.
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