CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY ENGLISH 6 END-OF-YEAR TEST

Part 2: Fiction
Reading
Read the extract from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again by Frank Cottrell Boyce.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again

As Mum reached for the phone, Chitty lurched into reverse. Mum was thrown back into
her seat. The phone tumbled to the floor. Suddenly the big shiny handle of Chitty’s
Chronojuster clunked to the bottom of its slot. Before they knew it, the car was
speeding backwards down the middle lane.
“Dad! You can’t do this!” yelled Jem. “You’re driving backwards down the motorway …”
Lucy couldn’t bear to look. Little Harry put his fingers in his ears. Jem stared in
horrified fascination at the cars behind them rushing towards them. Except they weren’t
rushing towards them. They seemed to be going backwards too. It wasn’t a motorway
any more, just an ordinary road.
“That’s good,” said Dad. “Trees are good.”
But he couldn’t help but notice that the lane no longer had tarmac and road signs. It
was just a track, a white dusty track cut into the chalk. The trees too were surprisingly
tall. They were thicker. The air was damp and hot. The undergrowth was thick and
steamy. So thick and steamy that Chitty had to stop to catch her breath (the engine was
air-cooled).
“Dinosaurs!” shouted Little Harry.
“Yes, yes, when we get home we’ll find your dinosaur,” said Mum. “Now shush while I
check the map. We seem to be lost.”
But Jem knew that you should never tell Little Harry to be quiet. Never ignore what he
was saying. If Little Harry said dinosaurs, then that strange, heavy thumping that
seemed to be coming nearer and nearer through the trees … that splintering of wood
and crunching of rocks … that hideous, mucousy roar that almost deafened you …
“I know this sounds strange,” said Mum, pointing nervously off to the left, “but isn’t that
…?”
“Dinosaurs!” yelled Little Harry.
“Tyrannosaurus rex, to be precise,” said Lucy, “from the Latin for ‘king of the terrible
lizards’.”
“The word today,” said Dad, “would seem to be Jurassic.”
“Not to be picky,” observed Lucy as the giant beast came crashing towards them
through the trees, “but I think you’ll find that the word today is actually Cretaceous.”
“Dinosaurs!”
“I think Chitty just engaged her Chronojuster,” said Jem, leafing quickly through the
logbook and manual. “It says here, ‘Do not engage the Chronojuster unless’” – he
looked up – “‘time travel is required …’”
Frank Cottrell Boyce

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Glossary

mucousy: to do with mucus (thick liquid in the throat or nose)

Jurassic: period from 201 million to 145 million years ago
Cretaceous: period following the Jurassic era

1 Summarise the extract in three sentences.

[3]
2 How did each of the children react to what was happening?

Lucy: [1]

Harry: [1]

Jem: [1]
3 List three features that make this a science-fiction story.

[3]

4 What is the purpose of the brackets in paragraph 5?

[1]
5 a What is the purpose of the ellipsis in paragraph 2?
[1]
b Why does the author use the ellipsis four times in paragraphs 8 and 9?
[1]

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6 a What sort of word is Chronojuster? Would it be in the dictionary?

[1]
b Chrono means ‘time’ in ancient Greek. How does this help you decide
what a Chronojuster does?
[1]
c What other word has it been created from?
[1]
7 Find and explain two different uses of the apostrophe.

[2]

8 Explain the punctuation in the final sentence of the extract.

[1]

9 Use examples from the narrative and dialogue to answer the questions.
a What narrative person is used?
[1]
b What are the main tenses used? Give reasons.

[2]
c Would you describe the writing style as formal or informal?
[1]
10 a What is the reason for the very short paragraphs in the extract?

[1]

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b The author uses strings of short sentences (paragraphs 3 and 5).

What effect does this create?

[1]
11 This extract is the ending of the book. How has the author tried to make
the reader want to read the next book in the series?

[1]

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Writing
This is the final chapter of the book. In the next book, imagine the characters
use the Chronojuster to escape from the dinosaur, and Chitty takes them to
another time and place.
Write the beginning of the next book, imagining where they end up and what
adventures they might have.
Describe:
• their new surroundings
• what happens when they suddenly arrive
• what adventure they embark on.

Characters • Mum, Dad, Jem, Harry, Lucy and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
• Any other characters of choice

Setting • Another time and place

Plot • What happens when they arrive in the new place?

• What do they see? Where and when are they?
• What do they do?
• What adventure looks like happening?

Language • Use vivid descriptions – and careful choice of words for

impact.
• Include dialogue.
• Use punctuation (brackets, dashes and ellipses) for effect.
• Use short sentences mixed with longer ones.
• Use third-person narrative.

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Planning
Spend up to five minutes making notes to plan your writing in this box.

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Start the story on the following lines.

Check your work carefully when you have finished.

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