11+ Comprehension, Dulwich College: Practice Papers & In-Depth Guided Answers: Volume 3

Looking for a definitive guide for the Dulwich College 11+ entrance exams? Accolade Press has crafted a resource specifically tailored to help your child ace the Dulwich College Assessment.

This volume -- the third in the series -- includes four comprehension papers mirroring Dulwich College's unique exam style. With our book, your child will gain a comprehensive understanding of the skills necessary to excel in these vital assessments.

Our expertly authored guide not only offers insights into Dulwich College Admissions for 11+, but also equips students with strategies for securing top results, and subsequently boosting Dulwich College acceptance rates.

Key features include:

• Comprehension papers reflecting Dulwich College's distinctive style, ensuring students are thoroughly prepared for exams in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
• Diverse extracts to test a range of skills in line with the Dulwich College entrance exam past papers.
• Comprehensive model answers for each question, with alternative solutions demonstrating how high marks can be achieved through various approaches.
• Detailed explanations accompanying each answer, clarifying complex concepts and vocabulary while showing how responses meet examiners' expectations.
• Authored by a skilled tutor with an impressive track record in 11+ admissions, this book is your child's comprehensive companion for Dulwich College's rigorous 11+ assessment. Equip your child with this guide and take a confident stride towards Dulwich College Admission.

Sample Extract:

Paper One

In this passage, set in the early nineteenth century in Salem, Massachusetts, our narrator recalls an interaction between an elderly widow who runs a cent-store and a young child who enters her store.

*

As Providence would have it, I found myself wandering the timeworn cobblestone streets of Salem, where the whispers of bygone days had settled like fog upon each shingled rooftop and weathered doorway — the year, as I recall it, was 18--. Turning at the corner, a quaint but busy thoroughfare opened up before me, bustling with activity. Here, I spotted a small cent-store, its sign creaking gently in the wind. Intrigued by its quiet allure in an otherwise lively street, I stepped inside.

The store's elderly proprietor, Goodwife Edith, was a widow held in high esteem by the townsfolk. Her white hair was a cloud of wisdom around her head, her eyes held a fathomless depth of understanding, and her mouth was pinched with an air of determination—attributes one could sense had been earned through a lifetime of hardships. She shuffled to and fro, busying herself with restocking her merchandise and attending to her customers.

Presently, the bell above the door marked the entrance of a young child, a boy of no more than six summers. He wore patched clothing and had tousled hair—an urchin one might have muttered, perhaps only in want of a mother's affection. In observing him, I could feel a lightness about his spirit, despite the shadows cast on his features.

Following the boy's arrival, silence soon engulfed the cozy cent-store as he sauntered down the narrow aisles, his innocent eyes alive with wonder. Upon reaching the shelves laden with candies, tokens, and trifles, he paused and gave an audible gasp. Memorized by the assortment of vivid colors before him, his small, begrimed hands reached for a single striped peppermint.

"Eager for a treat, are you, child?" asked Goodwife Edith, her voice a mixture of sweet and stern. She seemed to take stock of the boy's appearance, her eyes clouding with suspicion.

"Yes, ma'am," the boy replied, peering up at her with a hesitant smile. "I've saved my pennies — 3 in all — and I'd like to buy this peppermint."

Bearing witness to this interaction, I found myself drawn to the palpable tension that seemed to permeate throughout the room. The boy handed Goodwife Edith his coppers, their ragged edges and spotted surfaces a testament to the pennies' long and arduous journey—perhaps much like this boy's own story.

As she took the coins in her frail fingers and deposited them in the till, a shiver coursed through her body. I saw her grip the counter for support, the color draining from her face, leaving her unsteady and wan. A distressing memory seemed to rise from the recesses of her past, potent and haunted.

"What ails you, dear madam?" I inquired, my concern roused by her weakened state.

The room felt colder—an unexpected chill settling over the venerable widow. Yet even in this frailty, she composed herself with the steadfast dignity I had grown to admire. Looking me in the eye, she looked as though she would speak upon the matter when at last, sighing deeply, she chose to keep her secrets concealed.

Instead, she gently pressed the peppermint into the boy's hands, whispering a blessing upon his young head, and shooed the child out of the store with a kindly wave.

As I continued to observe her, the room taking on the semblance it had before, containing nothing but the quiet rustle of inventory and the passing lives caught by its draught, I could not help but wonder at the secrets that lay buried deep within the heart of Goodwife Edith. What  specter of her past had been dislodged by the sight of the young boy and his treasure of coppers? Alas, I shall never know, for some mysteries of the human heart are never meant to be exposed to the probing light of day.

Extract from A Widow's Treasure by Nathaniel Ashfield

***

QUESTIONS

1. The following is a comprehension question. As such, only short answers are required.

1a. In what century is this passage set? [1]

1b. What was the name of the store's elderly proprietor? [1]

1c. What was the first thing that the boy reached for in the cent-store? Was it:

• A toy soldier
  
• A striped peppermint
  
• A colorful piece of fabric

Circle the answer that appears most correct. [1]

1d. How many pennies did the boy have to buy the peppermint? [1]

1e. Why do you think the author chose to use a simile in this description of Goodwife Edith's hair: 'Her white hair was a cloud of wisdom around her head'? [1]

2. This question tests your ability to discuss language. The following three quotations are taken from the extract. Explain how the writer conveys the mood and atmosphere of the setting, and your ability to discuss the meanings of individual words and to identify literary techniques (such as metaphors or similes, imagery) will be rewarded.

2a. '...where the whispers of bygone days had settled like fog upon each shingled rooftop and weathered doorway.' [3]

End of Sample