Term 2 Year 8Z Reading

An extract from The Legendeer: Shadow of the Minotaur by Alan Gibbons

Chapter 1
But still the beast stood in the archway, pawing at the floor. It was bigger than a man. It stood
almost three metres tall and was massively built with slabs of muscle on its chest and
shoulders. Below the waist it was bull-like. It had a swinging tail and mud-splattered hooves. Or
was it mud? Above the waist it was a man except, that is, for the head. And what a head! The
muzzle was huge and when it opened it revealed the sharp, curved teeth, not of a bull but of a [5]
big cat. They were the fangs of a lion or tiger, made for ripping flesh. Its eyes were yellow and
blazed unflinchingly through the murk. Then there were the great horns, glinting and sharp,
curving from its monstrous brow. Thick and muscular as the neck was, it seemed barely able to
support such a fearsome head and strained visibly under the impossible weight.
‘Oh my – ’ [10]
The beast stepped out from the tunnel, and the boy actually took a few steps back. It was as if
his soul had crept out of his body and was tugging at him, begging him to get away. In the
sparse light shed from the gratings in the ceiling, the beast looked even more hideous. There
was the sweat for a start, standing out in gleaming beads on that enormous neck and
shoulders. [15]
The beast began to stamp forward, its hooves clashing on the stone floor. It raised its head, the
horns scraping on the ceiling, and gave a bellow that seemed to crush the air.
‘I can’t do this …’
He fell back, scrambling over obstacles on the floor, and fled. That’s when he realized he’d
dropped the ball of string. His lifeline had gone. [20]
‘Oh no!’
The beast was charging head down.
Got to get out of here!
In his mind’s eye, he could see himself impaled on the points of those evil-looking horns, his
legs pedalling feebly in the air, his head snapped back, his eyes growing pale and lifeless. [25]
Suddenly, he was running for his life, skidding on the slimy floor.
‘Help me!’
He saw the startled brown eyes of the girl above the grating.
‘Don’t run!’ she cried, ‘Fight. You must fight.’
 Term 2 Year 8Z Reading

He was almost dying of shame. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn't meant to lose and [30]
there weren’t meant to be witnesses to his defeat.
‘Fight,’ she repeated. ‘It’s the way of things.’
The way of things. That’s right, he was meant to stand and fight. It was in his nature as a hero.
But he couldn’t. Not against that.
‘Please,’ he begged, turning his face away from the girl in shame, ‘somebody help me.’ [35]
The beast was careering through the tunnels, crashing, bellowing, thundering through the maze.
Its charge was hot, furious, unstoppable. It was almost on him.
Get me out of here!
‘That’s it,’ he cried, throwing down his sword, ‘I’ve had enough. Game over!’
Chapter 2
Ripping off the mask and gloves, Phoenix bent double gulping down air like it had been [40]
rationed. The dank half-light of the tunnels was replaced by the welcome glow from an
Anglepoise lamp in his father’s study. He glanced at the score bracelet on his wrist. It registered
total defeat: 000000. For a few moments everything was spinning, the claws of the game
digging into the flesh of the here and now. Then his surroundings became reassuringly familiar.
He was out. [45]
It was a game!
‘Well?’ his dad asked, ‘What do you think?’
‘Mind-blowing,’ Phoenix panted. ‘It was so real. It was like another world. I mean, I was
Theseus. I went into the palace of the tyrant-king Minos. I could actually touch the stone
columns, feel the heat of the braziers, smell the incense.’ [50]
He knew he was gushing, babbling like a little kid, but he didn’t care.
‘The king’s daughter Ariadne helped me and she wasn’t just an image on a screen. She was a
real girl. Then I actually came face to face with the Minotaur. It was really happening. I believed
it.’ He shivered. ‘Still do.’
‘Oh, I could tell how convincing it was’, said Dad, enjoying the mixture of excitement and fear in [55]
his son’s voice.
‘You were screaming your silly head off by the end.’
Phoenix blushed then, beginning to control his breathing at last, he picked up the mask and
gloves and traced the attached wires back to the computer where images of the labyrinth were
still flashing away on the screen. [60]
 Term 2 Year 8Z Reading

‘It really is just a game?’

Dad pushed his seat back and gave a superior smile.
‘That’s all. Just a very sophisticated piece of software, hooked up to an even more sophisticated
piece of hardware.’

Section A: Reading
Read the text, and answer questions 1-9.
1. Look at lines 1–9.
(a) What part of speech are the hyphenated ( - ) words? Tick one box. [ 1 ]

 compound nouns /
 possessive adjectives
 compound adjectives
 concrete nouns
(b) Look at the exclamation mark ( ! ).
What does it tell the reader about the boy’s attitude to the beast’s head?
___It tells us that the boy is surprised and shocked at the size and appearance of the beast’s head.
_______________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
(c) Give one word that means ‘fearlessly’.
_courageously______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
2. Look at lines 10–15.
(a) Why does the writer use a dash ( – ) in line 10? __To represent the boy’s words while he is
horrified by the beast.
_______________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
(b) Look at lines 11–12.
What literary technique is used in this sentence?
____Hyperbole_____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
(c) What does this sentence tell the reader about how the boy feels? __The boy is terrified to the point
where his soul is leaving his body.
_____________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
 Term 2 Year 8Z Reading

3. Look at lines 16–22.

Give one word that tells the reader the beast’s voice was very loud.
____bellow________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
(b) Explain how the writer structures this section to build tension. Give two ways.
The writer added the boy’s reactions as more things were happening, describing the boy’s emotions.
He also described the events as they were happening real time, giving the situation a sense of action.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________ [ 2 ]
4. Look at line 26.
What literary technique is this?
Time related adverb
______________________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
5. Look at lines 27–39.
In what ways do you think the boy is unheroic? Give two reasons and support each reason with a
quotation from the text.
Reason 1: __He ran away from the danger despite the girl telling him to fight and begged for
help.______________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Quotation 1:
But he couldn’t. Not against that. ‘Please,’ he begged, turning his face away from the girl in shame,
‘somebody help me.
__________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ [ 2 ]
Reason 2:
He gave up defeating the enemy out of fear as the game felt too realistic.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Quotation 2 :
Get me out of here! ‘That’s it,’ he cried, throwing down his sword, ‘I’ve had enough. Game
over!’_____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
[2]
6. Look at lines 40–41.
What does gulping tell the reader about how the boy feels now?
The boy is desperate as he took of the game gaming equipment and was still shocked from the game.
__________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
7. Look at this extract, the claws of the game digging into the flesh of the here and now in lines
43–44.
What does this tell the reader? Tick one box. [ 1 ]
 Term 2 Year 8Z Reading

 The bull has injured him.

 Phoenix kept scratching himself.
 The score bracelet is too tight.
 Phoenix is still thinking about the game. /

8. Look at lines 48–54.

How does the writer make Phoenix’s experience sound realistic? Give two explanations and support
each explanation with a quotation from the text.
Explanation 1:
The writer made the boy describe and exaggerate his experience in the game. Saying words like
‘mind-blowing’
__________________________________________________________________________________
Quotation 1:
‘Mind-blowing,’ Phoenix panted. ‘It was so real. It was like another world. I mean, I was
Theseus. I went into the palace of the tyrant-king Minos. I could actually touch the stone
columns, feel the heat of the braziers, smell the incense.’
______________________________________________________________________________ [ 2 ]
Explanation 2:
The writer also made the boy shocked and impressed about the realistically of the game, like how he
felt the character in the game was actually a real living person.
__________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Quotation 2:
‘The king’s daughter Ariadne helped me and she wasn’t just an image on a screen. She was a
real girl. Then I actually came face to face with the Minotaur. It was really happening. I believed
it.’ He shivered. ‘Still do.’
__________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________ [ 2 ]
9. Look at lines 55–64. Phoenix’s father is pleased with himself.
Explain how the writer shows how the father feels. Give one way and support your answer using
evidence from the text.
The father teased his son as he enjoyed his reaction to the ultra-realistic game as seen in the quotation,
‘You were screaming your silly head off by the end.’
__________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________ [ 2 ]

[Total: 20]
 Term 2 Year 8Z Reading

Section B: Use of Language

Read the sentence below and choose the correct word/phrase for each space.

dynamic elegant obstinate unfavourable

dishonest obedient irresponsible fearless

tolerance impatient

1. I don't expect him to change his mind because I know he is very ----___
obstinate___________________________________ ________________________________ [ 1 ]
2. If you want to shop for the latest fashions or expensive souvenirs in New York City, go to Fifth
Avenue. It is full of ---- shops. _____
elegant______________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
3. Our teacher is a(n) ---- person, so she easily captivates the interest and attention of the students
while she is teaching.
___dynamic_______________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
4. My father gets angry with us whenever we make a mistake. He has no ---- for mistakes.
___tolerance___________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
5. Teachers like ---- students who never break their rules.
___obedient___________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
6. We couldn't see the meteor shower last night because of the ---- weather conditions. ____
unfavourable___________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
7. You should wait for your turn. You'd better not be so ----. ____
impatient ______________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
8. Tom is so ----; he never does his homework and never keeps to his promises. _________
__ irresponsible _______________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
9. Sarven is so ---- that he sometimes puts his life at risk. ____
fearless________________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
10. Mr. Travis always tells his daughter not to marry a(n) ---- man, who lies and cheats. ____
dishonest_____________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ]
Term 2 Year 8Z Reading

[Total: 10 marks]