English

Stage 7

Paper 2 Fiction 2022

Cambridge Lower Secondary Progression Test
Insert

3138_02_INS_RP
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Text for Section A, an extract from Inventing Elliot by Graham Gardner

Elliot has just started at a new school.

The two weeks after that first day were two weeks of growing despair and fear.

He had the right clothes. He had the right haircut. He sat in the right position in class – not too
near the front, not too near the back. But he knew it wasn’t enough.

The years at his last school had taught him. Trying not to be noticed was doomed to failure.
There were kids who spent their time searching out kids who tried not to be noticed. 5

He couldn’t hope that he simply wouldn’t be noticed, so he had to ensure that he was noticed in
the right way.

Yeah, right, Einstein. Ten out of ten for brilliant logic. Now all I have to do is work out how.

He needed an opportunity. He needed a moment where he could make people look and see
and notice him in the right way. And he needed it fast, before they looked and saw and noticed 10
him in the wrong way.

Every day he scanned the school notice board for some kind of group he could join, a short cut
to acceptance. There were any number of school societies, all calling for new members: chess,
debating, choir, maths, drama… Once or twice he touched the biro in his pocket, then always
pulled his hand away. 15

Football… rugby… tennis… At this place, it seemed that if you were good at sport you were
classified as ‘OK’, at least by the people who mattered. But always he drew back from those
notices, his palms greasy with fear. He couldn’t do it. He didn’t only hate sports, he was useless
at them.

Then, in the third week of term, came a chance of salvation: a notice calling for boys from Year 20
Nine and above to try out for the school swimming team.

He was a good swimmer – he could say that to himself as a statement of fact, not a boast.

He’d just never thought of it as a sport. Sport was about competition, about being aware of
others and trying to beat them. When he swam, it was nothing like that – he was in a world of
his own, a world free of everyone else… 25

But it was a chance to be noticed in the right way.

Maybe my only chance.

The try-outs were on Thursday after school. He arrived at the baths feeling weak and sick.

The changing room was crowded. He saw several boys looking him up and down as he
changed, critically assessing him. His stomach churning, he walked through the changing room 30
and out on to the poolside.

He was among the first to be called. For a horrible moment he thought he was going to be sick.
Then it passed. He stood with four other boys while a square-headed man in a tracksuit gave
them instructions: starting gun, dive, twenty lengths racing crawl.

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Elliot took up his position. His toes gripped the edge of the pool. He didn’t trust himself to look 35
anywhere but the water in front of him.

My only chance.

He pulled his goggles down over his eyes, checked they were tight. Breathed deeply, tasted the
familiar chemical smell of the pool disinfectant.

Suddenly he wasn’t nervous any more. 40

I can do this.

He heard the gun fire. Then –

Piercing the pool surface. Down… but not too far.

Rising. Surfacing.

Cutting through the water. Fast but clean. Every part of him talking to every other part of him, a 45
silent language he couldn’t have explained to anyone who didn’t already understand it.

One, two, three… eight… fifteen… twenty –

He touched the bar. Stopped.

He hauled himself over the edge of the pool – and heard the tannoy announce that Elliot Sutton
had been fastest of the group, and would the next five swimmers come and take up their 50
positions.

At the end of the try-outs he was the third fastest overall, which meant he had a place in the
swimming team. It was as simple as that. He shook the hand of the square-headed man, who
turned out to be the swimming coach, and then had his fingers crushed by someone who turned
out to be the team captain. Back in the changing room the only attention he received this time 55
was friendly nods and admiring glances.

I did it. I got noticed in the right way.

He could have cried with sheer relief and happiness.

As he left, someone said casually, ‘Catch you next week.’ He probably would have said the
same to any one of the other winning candidates, but that wasn’t important. What was 60
important, what made all the difference in the world, was that he’d said it to Elliot.

Elliot walked home on a cloud of elation, repeating the words over and over: Catch you next
week… Catch you next week… It was unbelievable. He’d done it. He was noticed in the right
way.

From now on, everything would be different. He knew it. 65

No maybes.

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BLANK PAGE

Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every
reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the
publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity.

To avoid the issue of disclosure of answer-related information to candidates, all copyright acknowledgements are reproduced online in the Cambridge
Assessment International Education Copyright Acknowledgements Booklet. This is produced annually and is available to download at
https://lowersecondary.cambridgeinternational.org/.

Cambridge Assessment International Education is part of Cambridge Assessment. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of the University of Cambridge
Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is a department of the University of Cambridge.

© UCLES 2022 E/S7/INSERT/02

English
Stage 7

Paper 2 Fiction 2022

1 hour 10 minutes

Additional materials: Insert

INSTRUCTIONS
• Answer all questions.
• Write your answer to each question in the space provided.
• You should pay attention to punctuation, spelling and handwriting.

INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 50.
• The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in brackets [ ].
• Suggestions for how long to spend on each section are given in the booklet.

3138_02_3RP
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Section A: Reading

Spend 30 minutes on this section.

Read the Text in the insert, and answer questions 1–16.

1 Look at the first line. Elliot feels less and less hopeful about the future.
Give one phrase that tells the reader this.

[1]

2 Look at lines 2–3. The writer emphasises how hard Elliot is trying to fit in with the other students.
Give one way the writer does this.

[1]

3 Look at lines 6–8. The writer uses italics (italics) in two different ways.
What are they? Tick () two boxes.

to create a dialogue

to add extra emphasis

to indicate a time shift

to describe the setting

to give Elliot’s thoughts

[2]

4 Look at lines 12–15. Why does Elliot touch his pen and then move his hand away?

[1]

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5 Look at lines 16–25.

(a) The writer uses ellipsis (…) in different ways.

Give two ways the writer uses ellipsis.
•

•
[2]

(b) The writer indicates an important turning point in the narrative.

Give one word that the writer uses to do this.

[1]

6 Look at line 28.

Explain why Elliot is feeling weak and sick. Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Explanation:

Evidence:

[2]

7 Look at lines 32–34. The writer lists the instructions, starting gun, dive, twenty lengths racing
crawl.
What does this tell the reader about Elliot’s feelings and thoughts in this moment?

[1]

8 Why does Elliot stop feeling sick and anxious?

[1]

9 Look at lines 42–48. The writer uses grammatical structures to show time passing quickly
during the race.
Give two grammatical structures the writer uses to do this.
•

•
[2]

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10 Look at lines 49–51. The writer uses one long, compound sentence in this paragraph to
contrast with the previous paragraph.
What effect does this have?

[1]

11 Look at line 54. Elliot had his fingers crushed by the team captain.
What does this tell the reader about the team captain’s attitude? Tick () one box.

He is hurt.

He is jealous.

He is pleased.

He is surprised.

[1]

12 Look at lines 55–61. After the race, Elliott has been accepted by the others.
Give two ways they show this.
•

•
[2]

13 The writer uses a literary technique in line 62 to show that Elliot is happy.
What literary technique does the writer use?

[1]

14 How does the last sentence refer to an earlier line in the text?

[1]

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15 Elliot tries to get noticed in the right way at school.

Which characteristic do you think helps him do this? Tick () one box.

self-awareness

determination

Explain your answer in two ways. Give one piece of evidence from the text to support each
explanation.

Reason 1:

Evidence 1:

Reason 2:

Evidence 2:

[4]

16 Which key feature of fiction is shown in the text? Tick () one box.

dialogue

flashback

chronological order

first person point of view

[1]

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Section B: Writing

Spend 30 minutes on this section.

17 Write a story in which a character faces a challenge.

You should consider:

• Characters – who the main character is

• Setting – where and when the story takes place
• What the challenge is, and how the character succeeds in overcoming it.

Space for your plan:

Write your story on the next page. [25 marks]

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© UCLES 2022 E/S7/02 [Turn over

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Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every
reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the
publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity.

To avoid the issue of disclosure of answer-related information to candidates, all copyright acknowledgements are reproduced online in the Cambridge
Assessment International Education Copyright Acknowledgements Booklet. This is produced annually and is available to download at
https://lowersecondary.cambridgeinternational.org/.

Cambridge Assessment International Education is part of Cambridge Assessment. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of the University of Cambridge
Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is a department of the University of Cambridge.

© UCLES 2022 E/S7/02