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8th grade reading comprehension

8th grade (Year 9 in England) · 16 questions · Common Core: RI.8.9, RL.8.9, RI.8.8, W.8.1.B · England: KS3 Reading, GCSE English Language Paper 2 Q4, KS3 Reading (evaluating arguments)

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Should Secondary Schools Try a Four-Day Week?

Imagine a school week that ends on Thursday afternoon. For students in a growing number of schools around the world, this is no longer a fantasy. I believe secondary schools should at least trial a four-day week. The strongest reason is wellbeing. Many teenagers report feeling exhausted by the end of the week, and a longer weekend could give them time to rest, exercise and pursue interests that school leaves no room for. Supporters also point to attendance. In one regional pilot involving twelve schools, attendance rose by three percentage points after the change. That may sound small, but across a year it adds up to thousands of extra lessons attended. Critics argue that working parents would struggle with childcare on the fifth day. This is a serious concern. However, schools could offer an optional supervised study day, run by staff and volunteers, so that no family is left without support. Others worry that students will learn less. Yet schools in the pilot lengthened each remaining day by forty minutes, so total teaching time hardly changed. A trial costs little and teaches us a lot. If it fails, we can change back. If it works, students will thank us for it.

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Question 1
Read "Should Secondary Schools Try a Four-Day Week?". Which evidence does the writer use in paragraph 3?
- A. a quotation from a famous scientist
- B. attendance figures from a pilot in twelve schools
- C. a description of a weekend trip
- D. a personal story about the writer's child

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Question 2
Which persuasive technique matches this description? Speaking straight to the reader as 'you' to involve them.
- A. emotive language
- B. rhetorical question
- C. expert opinion
- D. direct address
Question 3
Type the persuasive technique (in English) that matches this description. Quoting a qualified authority to support a claim.
Answer

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.

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Question 4
Read "Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)". How is the second verse different from the first?
- A. It moves from small leaves to whole trees, showing the wind's stronger effect.
- B. It changes the topic to the sea.
- C. It is written in prose.
- D. It answers the question with a name.

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Question 5
Is the proposed answer correct? A quote is shared with a famous scientist's photo, but you can't find it in any of her speeches or writings. What should you conclude? → it may be made up or wrongly attributed, so don't share it
- A. yes, it is correct
- B. no, it is not correct

Two Views on Zoos

TEXT A – "A Lifeline for Wildlife" Modern zoos are not the cramped menageries of the past. The best of them are centres for conservation, research and education. Breeding programmes in zoos have helped save species such as the Arabian oryx and the California condor from extinction, and some animals bred in zoos have been successfully returned to the wild. For millions of children who will never visit a rainforest or a savannah, seeing a living animal up close can spark a lifelong love of nature. Closing zoos would not free animals; it would abandon them. TEXT B – "Wild at Heart" No enclosure, however large, can replace a wild home. An elephant may walk dozens of kilometres a day in the wild; in a zoo, it may cover a fraction of that, and some show repetitive swaying or pacing that scientists link to stress. While a few breeding programmes have succeeded, most animals in zoos belong to species that are not endangered at all. If we truly want to protect wildlife, our money would do far more good protecting habitats where animals already live.

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Question 6
Read "Two Views on Zoos". How does Text B respond to the idea of breeding programmes?
- A. It agrees that they are the main purpose of zoos.
- B. It does not mention them.
- C. It says breeding programmes have never worked.
- D. It admits a few have worked but says most zoo animals are not endangered.
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Question 7
Read "Two Views on Zoos". What is the main difference between the two texts?
- A. Text A defends zoos; Text B argues against them.
- B. Both texts argue zoos should close.
- C. Text A is about elephants; Text B is about birds.
- D. Text B supports breeding programmes more strongly than Text A.

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Question 8
Judge the evidence for this claim. Claim: The new reading app improves reading scores. Evidence: The app has a colourful design that children like.
- A. relevant and sufficient
- B. relevant but not sufficient
- C. not relevant
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Question 9
Which poetry term matches this description? A poem that tells a story, often in four-line stanzas, and was traditionally sung.
- A. free verse
- B. ode
- C. couplet
- D. ballad

The Shark on the Motorway

During a storm last spring, a photo exploded across social media. It showed a large shark swimming beside cars on a flooded motorway. Within hours it had been shared more than 80,000 times, often with captions such as "Stay indoors — sharks in the streets!" Fourteen-year-old Amira Haddad saw the photo in her family group chat. Something felt wrong. "The shark looked too sharp compared with the blurry water," she said. "So I decided to check." First, Amira ran a reverse image search. She found the same shark in a wildlife photo published years earlier, on a website about ocean animals. Next, she checked two local news sites. Neither mentioned sharks; both reported flooding and road closures. Finally, she found an article from a fact-checking organisation explaining that the image had been edited and had appeared during several different storms in different countries. Amira posted the fact-check in the group chat. "My uncle had already shared the photo," she laughed. "He was embarrassed, but he thanked me." Fact-checkers say edited images spread fastest when they are shocking and arrive during real emergencies, when people are anxious and want to warn others. Their advice is simple: pause before you share, look for the original source, and check whether reliable outlets are reporting the same thing.

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Question 10
Read "The Shark on the Motorway". What was the first step Amira took to check the photo?
- A. a reverse image search
- B. calling her uncle
- C. asking a teacher
- D. visiting the motorway

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Question 11
Which fallacy is used here? She says we should recycle more, but she's only fourteen, so what does she know?
- A. slippery slope
- B. bandwagon
- C. hasty generalisation
- D. ad hominem

The Last Lap

Ruby had trained for the school relay every morning since September, running laps of the park while her breath made clouds in the cold air. She was the fastest in her class, and everyone expected her team to win. On the day of the race, the team's second runner, Theo, tripped on the bend and dropped the baton. By the time he scrambled up, two teams were far ahead. Ruby, waiting for the last leg, felt her heart sink. When the baton finally reached her, she ran harder than she ever had. She passed one runner. The finish line rushed towards her. The crowd was roaring. Then, a metre from the tape, the leader dipped her shoulder and won by a hand's width. Theo couldn't look at anyone. Ruby walked over, still panting, and held out the silver ribbon. "Second place," she said, "and that comeback was the best part of the whole race." Later, the team hung the ribbon on the classroom wall, right next to the first-place trophy from the year before. Somehow it seemed brighter.

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Question 12
Read "The Last Lap". Why does the ribbon 'seem brighter' than the trophy?
- A. It is bigger than the trophy.
- B. It is made of shiny material.
- C. It represents the team's effort and kindness, which feel more meaningful.
- D. The lights in the classroom are on it.

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Question 13
Read the question and choose. In the story, the lights of the city go out one by one as the old cinema closes forever. What do the fading lights most likely symbolise?
- A. a celebration
- B. an electrical fault
- C. the end of an era
- D. bedtime

Two Views on Zoos

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Question 14
Read "Two Views on Zoos". On which point would both writers most likely agree?
- A. Protecting wildlife is important.
- B. Elephants are happy in zoos.
- C. Zoos should all be closed.
- D. Children should not see animals.

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Question 15
Which narrative technique matches this description? A hint or clue early in a story about something that will happen later.
- A. cliffhanger
- B. foreshadowing
- C. flashback
- D. red herring

Should Secondary Schools Try a Four-Day Week?

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Question 16
Read "Should Secondary Schools Try a Four-Day Week?". Which persuasive technique does the writer use in the first sentence?
- A. direct address, inviting the reader to imagine
- B. statistics
- C. expert opinion
- D. an anecdote

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Answer key: 8th grade reading comprehension

1. B. attendance figures from a pilot in twelve schools
2. D. direct address
3. expert opinion
4. A. It moves from small leaves to whole trees, showing the wind's stronger effect.
5. A. yes, it is correct
6. D. It admits a few have worked but says most zoo animals are not endangered.
7. A. Text A defends zoos; Text B argues against them.
8. C. not relevant
9. D. ballad
10. A. a reverse image search
11. D. ad hominem
12. C. It represents the team's effort and kindness, which feel more meaningful.
13. C. the end of an era
14. A. Protecting wildlife is important.
15. B. foreshadowing
16. A. direct address, inviting the reader to imagine