SOLIHULL SCHOOL

11+ ENTRANCE EXAMINATION

ENGLISH

Sample Paper

11+ English Entrance Examination

Time allowed: 1 hour 30 minutes
Section A
Section A has three tasks; you should attempt them all. You should aim to spend one hour on this
section.
Task 1
Read the passage then answer the questions that follow. The extract is taken from J. R. R. Tolkiens
novel, The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins, a quiet and unassuming hobbit, has been persuaded to travel on a
quest with a company of thirteen dwarves to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large
and very dangerous dragon. In the extract, Bilbo is about to make his way through a tunnel that leads
through the side of the Lonely Mountain where the treasure is hidden. This task is worth thirty marks.
The stars were coming out behind him in a pale sky barred with black when the hobbit crept through the
enchanted door and stole into the Mountain. It was far easier going than he expected. This was no
goblin entrance, or rough wood-elves cave. It was a passage made by dwarves: straight as a ruler,
smooth-floored and smooth-sided, going with a gentle never-varying slope direct to some distant end
in the blackness below.
The hobbit slipped on his ring and crept noiselessly
down, down, down into the dark. He was trembling with
fear, but his little face was set and grim. Already he was
a very different hobbit from the one that had left the safe
comforts of Bag-End long ago. He loosened his dagger
in its sheath, tightened its belt, and went on.
He was altogether alone. Soon he thought it was
beginning to feel warm. Is that a kind of glow I seem to
see coming right ahead down there? he thought.
It was. As he went forward it grew and grew, till there was no doubt about it. It was a red light steadily
getting redder and redder. Also it was now undoubtedly hot in the tunnel. Wisps of vapour floated up
and past him and he began to sweat. A sound, too, began to throb in his ears, a sort of bubbling like the
noise of a large pot galloping on the fire, mixed with a rumble as of a gigantic tom-cat purring. This
grew to the vast unmistakable gurgling noise of some vast animal snoring in its sleep down there in the
red glow in front of him.
It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from here was the bravest thing he ever did. The
tremendous things that happened afterwards were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle
in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait. At any rate after a short halt he
did go on, and you can picture him coming to the end of the tunnel, an opening of much the same size
and shape as the door above. Through it peeps the hobbits little head. Before him lies the great
bottommost cellar or dungeon-hall of the ancient dwarves right at the Mountains root. It is almost dark
so that its vastness can only be dimly guessed, but rising from the near side of the rocky floor there is a
great glow. The glow of Smaug!

There he lay, a vast red-golden dragon, fast asleep; a thrumming came from his jaws and nostrils, and
wisps of smoke, but his fires were low in slumber. Beneath him, under all his limbs and his huge coiled
tail, and about him on all sides stretching away across the unseen floors, lay countless piles of precious
things, gold wrought and unwrought, gems and jewels, and silver red-stained in the ruddy light.
Smaug lay, with wings folded like an immeasurable bat, turned partly on one side, so that the hobbit
could see his underparts and his long pale belly crusted with gems and fragments of gold from his long
lying on his costly bed. Behind him where the walls were nearest could dimly be seen coats of mail,
helms and axes, swords and spears hanging; and there in rows stood great jars and vessels filled with
a wealth that could not be guessed.

Questions:
1. Where is Bilbo at the beginning of the extract?
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2. According to Bilbo, who were responsible for making the tunnel?
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3. What type of word is noiselessly? Is it a verb, and adjective, a noun, an adverb or a preposition?
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4. What did Bilbo slip on? Why do you think he might have done this?
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5. Describe Bilbos emotions as he begins his journey down the tunnel. Use quotations to support
your answer.
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6. Explain what Tolkien means in the following sentence: Already he was a very different hobbit from
the one that had left the safe comforts of Bag-End long ago.
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7. Of what does Bilbo start to become aware whilst travelling down the tunnel?
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8. Find two examples of when Tolkien uses a simile in the passage and copy them down.
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9. Find an example from the passage when the writer appeals to the readers sense of sound.
Describe the effect it has.
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10. Explain, in your own words, the meaning of the following two sentences: The tremendous things
that happened afterwards were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel
alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait.
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11. Who does Bilbo discover at the end of the tunnel?

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12. Describe the atmosphere that the writer creates in this extract.
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Task 2
Read the following sentences. They all contain errors. You must rewrite each sentence ensuring that
you have corrected the errors and mistakes. This task is worth thirty marks.
1. sallys pour was saw after she got a nasty splinter in it whilst going four a walk in the would.
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2. come hear now, said the teacher, Mrs cobble. whos responsible for all this dreadfull mess.
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3. Were is our knew English classroom. asked polly.

I think that its over their by the dining room, replied Danny.
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4. Robbie and charlotte should of taken their 3D glases with them to sea the new Harry Potter movie
at the cinema.
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5. I wood love to visit there chalet in austria. Skiing is my favorite sport.

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Task 3
Choose one of the following creative writing challenges. Write your answer on the lined paper provided.
This task is worth thirty marks.
For all of the challenges, you will be marked on:

your use of varied, interesting vocabulary including verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs
the accuracy of your grammar and expression
the originality of your ideas
your ability to create an interesting and exciting story or description

1. Write a description of a forest. Write about lots of different things that you can see and hear
around you and try to use all five senses in your description. You do not need to tell a story; you
will be marked on how well you can describe the scene. You can use the picture below as
inspiration.

2. Write the first chapter of a longer story. You should use the sentences below as your opening:
I banged loudly on the door, begging to be let in. When the door finally opened, I could not
believe the sight before me.

3. Imagine you are the man in the picture below. Write a short story, using the scene in the picture
as a starting point. The box he is opening appears laden with treasure.

Section B
Section B has only one task; please attempt this. It is expected that you will find these questions more
challenging.
Task 1
Read the poem below then answer the questions that follow. You should aim to spend thirty minutes
on this task. It is worth twenty marks.

Daffodils
I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils,
Beside the lake, beneath the trees
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company!
I gazed - and gazed - but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills
And dances with the daffodils.
By William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

1. What technique has the writer used in the opening line? What effect does it have upon the way we
view the speaker?
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2. The poem is written from the first person perspective. What effect does this have?
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3. By suggesting that the daffodils are dancing, the poet has used which technique? What effect
does it have?
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4. Why are the daffodils compared to the Milky Way?

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5. In your own words, explain the meaning of the following lines: I gazed - and gazed - but little
thought / What wealth the show to me had brought.
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6. According to the final stanza, what effect does the remembrance of the daffodils have upon the
speaker? What does this suggest about the power of nature?
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