Comprehension - The School and The Code

The night ________ rapidly.

I only once awoke to hear the wind rave in -------- gusts, and the rain fall in torrents.

I too rose ___________; it was bitter cold, and I dressed as well as I could for shivering, and washed when there was a basin at liberty, which did not occur soon, as there was but one basin to six girls.

In paragraph 2, the word 'four' is repeated. What effect does this have?

• It emphasises the orderliness of the schoolroom.

• It gives a sense of the narrator's boredom.

• It highlights the significance of 'four' in the story.

• It focuses the reader on the alliteration in the paragraph.

• It creates a build-up of tension in the paragraph.

Which word in paragraph 3 means the same as 'lower'?

• assumed

• vacant

• smallest

• inferior

• bottom

How does the last sentence of paragraph 4, from 'How glad I was' onwards, link with what follows in paragraph 5?

• It focuses on cooking which is also the focus of paragraph 5.

• It highlights the expectation of food which is dampened in paragraph 5.

• It contrasts the narrator's happiness with her sadness in paragraph 5.

• It introduces character traits which are further developed in paragraph 5.

• It raises a question about the narrator which is answered in paragraph 5.

Which aspect of the text helps to suggest that it was written in Victorian times?

• the dialogue

• the setting

• the spelling

• the names

• the food

What is the author's message in this text?

• Education is important.

• Schools are sometimes harsh.

• Children benefit from order.

• Teaching can be difficult.

• Discipline can be hard to achieve.

For centuries, ________, we have been coming up with ingenious ways of making communication difficult.

For centuries, however, we have been coming up with ingenious ways of making communication difficult, to ______________access to information.